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Photographic 

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1 

2 

3 

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4 

5 

6 

1 


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I' 


i    , 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH 


PROM 


TRADITION    TO    REASON 


BY 


ROBERT   C.    ADAMS 


\     •' 


"There  Uvea  more  faJth  In  honest  doubt, 
Believe  me,  than  in  half  the  creeds." 

Tbnnvson. 


■  •  *  •  • 


C.  p.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

Nfw  York:  27  &  29  Wkst  2jn  Street 

London:  35  IlENRiErrA  St.,  Covent  Garden 

1884 

15 


Reproduced  by 
DUOPAGE  PROCESS 


in  the 


U.S.  of  America 


The  original  of  this  book  is 
in  the  collection  of  the 

WESTERN  RESERVE  UNIVERSITY 

UBRARIES 

Qeveland,  Ohio 


Micro  Photo  Division 

.  Bell  &  Howell  Company 

Cleveland,  Ohio  44112 


V    ♦, 


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DP  #  5481 


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G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

1884 


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CONTENTS. 


m 


PAGE. 

I.  Travels  in  Faith i 

II.  A  Radical  Avowal 71 

III.  Gain  or  Loss  ? „ . .     77 

IV.  Human  Religion qG 

V.  Is  the  I'.ible  the  Word  of  God  ?  105 

VI.  The  I5iblc  a  Human  13ook 1 1  e 

VII.  Human  Ideas  of  God 12c 

VIII.  Prayer 138 

IX.  Morality    14^ 

X.  The  Future 1 16 

XI.  The  Church  and  its  Work    168 

XII.  The  Decline  of  the  Ministry 177 

XIII.  The  Consolations  of  Christianity    1S6 

XIV.  Material  Immortality 104 

XV.  Liberal  Convictions 107 

XVI.  Rcfomi 207 

XVn.  Truth  in  Error 215 

XVIIL  Free  Thought  Rhymes  236 


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I- 1 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


I. 


When  Dr.  Lyman  Beecher  was  r  ked,  "  What 
is  the  best  way  to  promote  revivals  ?"  he  answered, 
*'  By  telling  of  them."  Temperapi  ephitforvis,  ex- 
perience meetings,  and  the  efforts  of  evangelists 
prove  that  the  surest  way  to  gain  converts  is  to 
narrate  the  conversion  of  others.  "  I  believed,  and 
therefore  have  I  spoken,"  has  been  the  warraat 
through  ages  for  the  utterance  of  sincere  convic- 
tion. Truth  is  free  to  all  men,  and  every  searcher 
for  it  may  tell  what  he  thinks  he  has  found.  If  he 
is  proved  to  be  wrong,  the  discussion  excited  will 
help  to  establish  the  right,  and  his  failure  will  be  a 
stepping-stone  in  the  path  of  progress. 

Religious  subjects  have  received  the  chief  atten- 
tion throughout  my  life;  and  I  venture  to  state 
some  results  of  my  study  and  observation,  in  the 
hope  that  some  who  are  endeavoring  to  preserve 
an  inherited,  but  distrusted  belief  may  be  encour- 
aged to  think  for  themselves.     Doubt  is  the  father 


» 


■» 


I 

III 

ti; 
III 


3  TRAVELS  IN  FAITH, 

of  knowledge,  and  its  questionings  may  as  rightly 
be  applied  to  religion  as  to  astronomy. 

Some  who  do  not  care  to  read  the  theological 
and  philosophical  works  of  scholars  may  peruse 
and  be  helped  by  a  simple  narrative  of  personal 
experience  and  thought,  for,  as  a  German  proverb 
says,  "  What  comes  from  the  heart  goes  to  the 
heart";  and  the  following  thoughts  are  the  result 
of  years  of  earnest,  prayerful  seeking  after  *'  divine 
truth.'* 

A  shrinking  from  publicity  is  overcome  by  the 
desire  for  usefulness  ;  and  the  fear  of  unpopularity 
is  allayed  by  the  sentiment  expressed  in  the  words 
of  F.  A.  Lange,  "  Never  has  the  thoughtful  ob- 
server the  right  to  be  silent,  merely  because  he 
knows  that  for  the  present  there  are  but  few  who 
listen  to  him." 

I  was  born  ii.  Boston  on  the  first  day  of  winter, 
1S39.  My  father*"*  often  pointed  out  to  me  a  spot 
in  the  corner  of  his  study,  where,  when  he  first 
heard  that  another  son  had  been  giveii  to  him,  he 
kneeled  and  commended  the  newly  given  life  to 
God.  On  the  first  day  of  spring,  I  was  "  dedicated 
to  God  in  baptism  "  at  the  old  church  in  Essex 
Street,  my  father  preaching  a  sermon  from  the 
words,  **  And  it  came  to  pass  after  the  death  of 
Abraham  that  God  blessed  his  son  Isaac." 

My  mother  wrote  in  her  journal  on  this  day,  "  I 

•  Rev.  Nchcmiah  Adams,  D.I). 


■,"|5' 


M 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


of 


II 


I 


took  a  strong  hold  on  God  as  a  covenant  God,  not 
only  mine,  but  my  husband's  and  our  parents'  be- 
fore us,  even  to  remote  generations  ;  and  i  left  my 
vow  on  his  altar  to  bring  up  this  child  for  him, 
patiently  bearing  any  care  and  fatigue  which  in 
behalf  of  this  child  I  may  be  called  to  endure." 
These  vows  were  faithfully  fulfilled,  until  her  death 
from  consumption  when  I  was  just  eight  years  old. 
All  my  memories  of  her  are  pleasant,  though  I 
have  but  few  distinct  recollections  of  my  inter- 
course with  her.  The  two  things  which  seem  must 
forcibly  stamped  upon  my  mind  are  the  Sunday 
afternoons  when  she  talked  with  us  and  taught  us 
the  Westminster  Assembly's  Shorter  Catechism, 
and  the  incongruous  fact  that  on  a  Fourth  of  July 
she  allowed  me  to  smoke  a  sweet-fern  cigar, — an 
indulgence  so  contrasted  with  the  usual  restraint 
of  my  life  that  my  wonder  and  gratitude  have  viv- 
idly remained. 

In  her  journal,  she  speaks  of  me  at  the  age  of 
four  as  having  been  "  such  a  comfort  and  joy  to  us 
ever  since  he  was  born."  I  will  record  a  few  of 
her  complimentary  statements,  as  they  are  inter- 
esting illustrations  of  the  total  depravity  which 
theoretically  possessed  me ;  and  I  make  no  other 
apology  for  quoting  a  fond  mother's  praises.  She 
writes :  "  His  most  striking  trait  of  character  is  a 
sense  of  justice.  He  sees  things  as  they  are,  and 
acts  accordingly  in  a  way  far  different  from  any 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


U 

I 

ii 


child   I  have  had   the   opportunity  of  noticing." 
"  With  regard  to  his  faults,  I  do  not  know  of  one 
that  I  could  mention.     I  asked  his  father  and  aunt 
if  they  could  tell  me  what  his  prominent  failings 
were,  but  they  neither  of  them  could.      Still,  he 
occasionally  needs  my  saying,  *  That  is  naughty,* 
or  '  That  is  not  right,*  only,  when  he  is  reminded 
of  doing  wrong,  he  is  usually  willing  to  do  right  and 
make  reparation."     It  is  said  that  I  went  to  school 
cheerfully,  because,  as  I  remarked,  "  I  wanted  to 
please  Christ."     "  He  has  great  power  of  associa- 
tion of  ideas,  in  which  his  strength  of  memory  also 
shows  itself.     A  word  will  sometimes   suggest  a 
complete  set  of    incidents   which    occurred    long 
since.      He   thinks,  works  a  thing  out  in  his   own 
mind,  but  does  not  seem  so  fond  of  learning  to 
read  as  his  brother.      He  looks  through  a  subject 
at  a  glance.     I  have  been  surprised  that  a  child  of 
so  much  forethought  and  contrivance  should  be 
so  free  from  cunning  and  guile.     He  is  fair  and 
open  as  the  day."     Some  instances  of  forbearance 
and  generosity  are  mentioned,  and  this  part  of  the 
record  closes  with  saying:    "His    school-teacher 
is    Mrs.   Lothrop,  mother  of    the  Mary  Lothrop 
whose  little    memoir    is   the   charm    of   Sabbath- 
school    readers.      She  said  to    me,  •  Mrs.  Adams, 
Robert  is  either  early  to  be  taken  to  heaven,  or 
God  is  qualifying  him  for  eminent  usefulness.' " 
Thus,  it  seems  I  was  one  of  the  good  boys,  who, 


I  •> 


TRAl'EUi  IN  FAIT//.  5 

though  they  may  charm  "  Sabbath-school  readers," 
are  not  so  popular  with  the  general  public  of  to- 
day as  the  Tom  Sawyers  and  the  bad  boys,  whose 
"diaries"  would  be  preferred  to  the  extended  ac- 
count of  my  youth,  from  which  the  above  extracts 
are  made. 

The  character  of  my  mother's  Sunday  talks  with 
her  children  is  shown  in  the  following  entry  :  "  It 
is  my  custom  Sabbath  evening  to  tell  the  three 
older  childr'^n  how  I  have  enjoyed  myself,  what 
particular  truths  and  passages  of  Scripture  have 
interested  me,  and  what  the  impression  is  which 
that  day  has  left  upon  my  mind,  with  which  to 
enter  on  the  busy  scenes  of  the  week.  Sabbath 
before  last,  as  I  was  thus  sitting  with  them,  I  said : 
'Children,  this  morning's  sermon  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Phelps,  of  1  ine  Street  Church,  made  me  feel  that 
I  ought  not  to  rest  satisfied  with  anything  but 
your  conversion.  Parental  and  Sabbath-school  in- 
struction is  not  enough,  you  must  be  born  again, 
as  much  as  if  you  were  heathens.'  M.  (nine  years 
old)  looked  very  solemn.  I  continued:  'Your 
father  this  afternoon  preached  to  those  who  sin- 
cerely desire  to  be  Christians.  M.,  you  think  you 
are  one  of  those,  don't  you  ? '  '  Oh,  yes,  mother, 
I  am  sure  I  do.  I  pray  and  pray,  but  it  don't  come. 
Do  tell  me  what  father  said.'  The  day  had  been 
intensely  cold,  and  owing  to  slight  indispositions 
the  children  had  been  kept  at  home.     I  told  them 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


m 


about  the  sermon  :  one  hindrance  to  some  was  the 
fear  of  what  their  acquaintance  would  think.  *  Ha, 
mother!*  said  M.,  'that  ain't  mine.  I  don't  care 
what  they  think.  Mother,  I  should  be  proud, 
proud  \.o  have  them  know  I  was  a  Christian.'  An- 
other hindrance  was  being  afraid  to  trust  the  soul 
with  Christ.  *  I  ain't  afraid  to,*  she  said.  Another 
hindrance  was  lo\in<j  one's  lusts  and  passions. 
Here,  we  were  interrupted.  The  next  morning 
she  said  to  me  :  '  Mother,  I  know  what  my  hin- 
drance is.  I  love  my  passions  too  well  to  give  them 
up.' "  Shortly  after,  it  is  written  :  "  Sabbath  even- 
ing M.  came  into  my  chamber,  and  said  :  *  Mother,  I 
feel  solemn,  there  is  a  weight  on  my  mind,  and  I 
can't  <Tet  rid  of  it.'  I  asked  her  wha*"  it  was.  She 
replied,  '  It  seems  as  if  all  the  wicked  things  I  have 
ever  CiVtw^.  against  you  have  come  into  my  mind  to- 
day, and  I  must  answer  for  them  all  at  the  judg- 
ment seat  of  Christ.  They  will  all  appear  there.' 
Then,  she  mentioned  several  of  them.  She  was 
afraid  to  go  to  bed.  I  went  up  with  her.  Her 
feelings  were  very  solemn  and  tender.  Conviction 
of  sin  is  a  new  feeling  for  her.  Oh,  how  I  would 
welcome  the  Spirit  of  God,  if  he  would  but  come 
*  under  my  roof  !" 

A  few  months  after  this,  it  is  said  that  M.  printed 
a  statement  which  she  handed  to  her  mother.  It 
was  headed,  **  Give  an  account  of  thy  stewardship." 
After  enumerating  several  trivial  faults,  exagger- 


TRAVELS  IX  FAITH. 


It 


atcd  by  a  morbid  conscience,  she  says  :  "To-day, 
I  j^avc  myself  to  God  to  be  his  cliild  forever.  I 
am  now  jvj^oing,  throiic^h  his  streni^ih,  to  try  not  to 
be  impudent,  not  to  call  names,  and  not  to  use  any 
vulj^ar  language,  and  not  to  have  a  coarse  voice. 
I  am  not  going  with  any  of  my  bad  companions. 
That  little  child  (M.  D.),  ten  years  old,  as  old  as 
I  am,  is  a  Christian  ;  and  I  will  try  to  be  one  too. 
I  hope  by  New  Year's  day,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year,  I  shall  be  a  Christian.  I  will  "cad  my 
Bible,  and  may  I  always  'consider  every  day  as  a 
blank  leaf  to  be  fdled  up  for  Christ.'  May  I  al- 
ways remember  God  will  bring  me  to  judgment. 
May  I  be  a  praying  child,  and  on  my  dying  bed 
may  I  look  back  with  happy  remembrance  to  this 
day." 

The  next  week,  my  mother  writes  of  having  had 
to  find  fault  with  M.,  and  says,  '•  I  told  her  that, 
in  view  of  what  she  had  resolved  the  past  week, 
I  considered  it  the  greatest  sin  she  iiad  ever 
committed."  Then  follows  another  letter,  filled 
with  the  agony  of  repentance  and  fresh  resolves. 

The  all-overshadowing  memory  of  my  early  life 
is  this  striving  for  conversion,  which  pervaded  the 
whole  family  and  was  my  own  most  intense  idea. 
Being  more  reticent  and  retiring  than  some  others 
of  the  family,  I  do  not  seem  to  have  made  as  many 
demonstrations  to  my  parents  as  they  ;  and,  there- 
fore, I  give  some  records  of  their  experiences,  as 


y- 


8 


r/^A  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


ii:. 


showing  the  religious  atmosphere  of  our  home 
and  the  feelings  which  I  entertained  in  common 
with  them. 

My  brother  possessed  a  highly  emotional  nature, 
and  was  "  converted  "  several  times  over.  Some 
instances  of  his  and  my  sisters'  experiences  will 
serve  to  ilhistrate  my  own,  as  I  am  conscious  of 
having  passed  through  many  such  strivings,  though 
never  u^'iininir  such  "assurance  of  salvation."  His 
first  letter,  written  at  the  age  of  seven,  is  preserved. 
The  contents  were :  •*  My  dear  mother,  I  hope 
that  you  will  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  be  one  of 
Jesub'  flock."  A  record  of  a  fault  and  its  confes- 
sion says  that  \V.  came  to  his  father,  and  said : 
"  O  father,  last  night  I  could  not  go  to  shtep,  it 
worried  me  so ;  and  I  thought  I  never  could  be  a 
Christian  till  I  told  you  of  it,  and  I  prayed  to  God 
to  forgive  me,  and  to  help  tell  you  of  it.  And, 
father,  I  have  felt  all  day  like  Pilgrim  with  a  bur- 
den on  his  back."  Though  irrelevant,  I  will  insert 
the  next  record  as  showinti  that  there  were  limits 
to  his  Scriptural  knowledge:  "This  morning  at 
family  worship,  reading  of  the  land  of  Ham  in  the 
105th  Psalm,  his  father  asked  W.  what  land  was 
meant.     '  The  land  where  hams  grow,  father.* " 

On  the  anniversary  of  our  baptism,  she  writes: 
"  I  reminded  them  of  it.  We  talked  it  over  alone. 
VV.  was  very  much  affected.  He  shed  tears,  and 
then  locked   himself  in  his  chamber."     We  both 


TRAVELS  IX  I'AITH. 


printed  verses  of  Scripture,  which  our  mother 
pinned  up  on  the  wall  of  our  room,  *'  that  they 
maybe  reminded  of  it  each  morning." 

More  than  two  years  after  my  sister  M.'s  con- 
version and  fall  from  grace  already  mentioned,  it 
is  said:  "On  this  same  Sabbath  eve,  my  dear 
child  M.  came  to  me  and  said,  '  Mother,  I  cannot 
but  hope  that  I  am  a  child  of  God.'  I  asked  her 
why  she  hoped  so.  She  replied;  'This  last  week, 
I  have  known  what  despair  was.  I  have  been  in 
such  distress  about  my  sins.  I  thought.  For  twelve 
long  years  I  have  sinned  against  God.  I  asked 
God  to  forgive  me  my  twelve  long  years  of  sin, 
because  Christ  has  suffered  and  died  for  such  sin- 
ners as  me.  I  feel  happy,  and  I  want  everybody 
to  love  God.'  She  told  me  a  few  weeks  since  that 
she  had  always  felt  entering  her  teens  would  be 
an  important  period  in  her  life,  a  turning  point  in 
her  history,  and  she  meant  to  spend  the  interven- 
ing months  (from  April  to  August)  in  trying  to  be- 
come a  Christian.  Yesterday,  \V.  came  to  his 
father  at  noon  and  said,  '  Father,  I  hope  that  I 
am  a  Christian.'  *  What  makes  you  hope  so, 
my  son?*  'This  morning,  father,  I  felt  I  was  a 
great  sinner,  and  went  to  my  chamber  and  asked  to 
be  forgiven,  and  gave  myself  to  God.*  He  inci- 
dentally said  that,  at  the  ^ime  when  he  gave  him- 
self to  the  Lord,  after  he  had  done  so,  he  sat  down 
in  his  chamber  and  sang,  'Jesus,  save  my  dying 


10 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


iii 


soul.'  "  Then  comes  an  entry  about  myself  when 
seven  years  old :  "  Sunday  before  last,  R.  said  in 
my  presence,  '  I  wish  I  was  a  Christian,  but  it's 
dreadful  hard.'  I  said,  '  Why,  it  is  only  to  be  like 
Christ.*  Lookinor  in  my  face,  he  asked  in  a  delib- 
erate, earnest  manner,  *  Mother,  do  you  think  you 
are  like  Christ?'  Last  Sunday  he  was  sitting  in 
my  lap,  and  I  said,  '  If  you  could  have  what  you 
wish»  1  know  you  would  wish  to  be  a  Christian  ?  * 
'Well,'  said  he,  'I'd  about  as  lief  be  a  fairy.* 
'Why?*  'Because  then  I  could  wish  myself  any- 
thing.' *  And  what  would  be  your  first  wish,  if  on 
waking  to-morrow  morning  you  should  find  your- 
self a  fair)'  ?'     *  I  would  wish  myself  a  Christian.'  ** 

"  Yesterday,  W.  was  ten  years  old.  This  morn- 
ing, Sunday,  he  came  into  his  father's  study,  and 
said  :  '  Father,  I  do  hink  I  am  a  Christian.  I  be- 
lieve I  have  taken  God  for  my  portion.' "  Two 
months  later,  "  W.  had  an  affecting  conversation 
with  his  father,  and  then  followed  him  in  prayer, 
beginning  with,  '  My  sins  are  more  in  number  than 
the  sands  on  the  sea-shore.'  He  afterward  asked 
his  eldest  sister  to  pray  with  him,  weeping  freely 
and  saying  '  Oh,  you  don't  know  what  a  sinner  I 
am ! 

The  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  the  perseverance  of 
saints,  "  once  in  grace  always  in  grace,"  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  impressed  upon  us ;  and,  a  year 
after  this,  W.  experiences  another  conversion.     My 


TR^IVELS  IN  I'M  TIL 


II 


mother's  hand  had  ceased  to  write  her  loving  com- 
ments ;  and  my  father  continues  her  journal,  and 
says:  "This  morning,  as  I  was  preparing  to  go  to 
meeting,  W.  came  into  my  study  and  laid  the  fol- 
lowing: letter  before  me,  and  went  out.  To-mor- 
row,  he  is  eleven  years  old.  *  My  dear  father,  I 
have  been  led  to  know  how  vile  I  am,  and  that 
Jesus  cleanseth  from  all  sin  ;  and  I  have  cast  my 
burden  upon  the  Lord.  I  have  cried  unto  him, 
and  he  has  heard  me  ;  and  the  Saviour  seems  dear 
to  me.  I  will  trust  in  him  all  the  days  of  my  life. 
He  is  a  good  Saviour,  and  I  will  put  my  trust  in  him. 
j\Iy  dear  father,  you  have  been  the  means  of  my 
loving  the  Saviour.  You  have  showed  me  the  way, 
I  have  followed  it.  My  father,  I  never  knew  what 
a  Saviour  was.  I  see  him  nailed  to  the  cross  for  me, 
bleeding,  dying  for  me.  Dear  Saviour,  how  I  do 
love  thee  !  How  I  will  serve  thee  !  And,  if  I  live 
to  grow  up,  I  will  go  far  and  wide  and  tell  the  poor 
heathen  what  a  Saviour  thou  art.  My  father,  the 
Lord  has  taken  me  up.  I  will  go  through  my 
eleventh  year  with  the  Saviour.  Your  dear,  affec- 
tionate son,  \V. 

" '  P.  S. — Father,  I  feel  the  love  of  a  Saviour.' 
"  He  followed  me  into  my  room  after  meeting, 
and  said  that  for  a  long  time,  when  Saturday  even- 
ing was  coming  on,  he  had  felt  a  dreadful  burden. 
The  approach  of  holy  time  seemed  to  make  him 
think  of  his  sins  the  week  past.     To-day,  he  said, 


la 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


I. 
n. 

I .. 
1(1 
ii; 
I' 


he  had  prayed  and  wept  and  begged  for  mercy  in' 
his  room,  and  during  his  prayer  he  thought  that 
he  was  heard  and  answered.  He  never  felt  so  be- 
fore, and  he  poured  out  his  heart  in  this  letter. 
Dear  boy,  he  has  had  deep  convictions  of  sin.  So 
has  C.  This  gives  me  confidence  in  whatever  of 
right  feeling  they  have.  He  said  that  he  thought, 
while  I  was  preaching  the  New  Year's  sermon  this 
morning  ('  Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine  end'),  if 
God  had  sent  him  word  that  he  might  die  this  year, 
and  asking  if  he  was  willing  to  die  or  not,  he  would 
send  back  word,  '  Father,  thy  will  be  done.'  I  am 
deeply  interested  and  affected  by  his  experience 
and  appearance  to-day." 

The  journal  was  discontinued  soon  after  this 
entry,  but  contains  an  expression  of  my  father's 
deep  emotion  at  the  bereavement  which  had  be- 
fallen him  in  the  loss  of  his  beloved  wife.  The 
following  instruction  is  then  recorded  for  his  chil- 
dren's benefit,  when  they  should  read  it  in  later 
years: — 

"  God  afiflicts  the  soul  of  a  child  of  his  with  these 
unutterable  sorrows.  He  does  not  spare  him. 
Bereavement  with  all  its  aggravating  memories, 
its  fearful  solitude,  its  anticipations,  consume  him. 
All  this  happens  to  one  who  loves  God. 

**  Now,  this  makes  me  think  and  feel  how  willing 
and  able  God  is  to  see  the  wicked  suffer  hell  tor- 
ments.    We  have  no  adequate  conception,  till  we 


TRA  I 'ELS  LV  FAITIf. 


•3 


are  in  great  aftliction,  what  the  future  sufferinj^s  of 
the  wicked  can  be.  'If  these  things  are  done  in 
the  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry?' 
'  And  if  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall 
the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  appear?'  All  the  con- 
solations of  religion  cannot  prevent  the  memory  of 
past  joys  from  being  unutterably  painful.  What 
must  it  be  to  lie  down  in  sorrow  !  Besides,  if  the 
Savic'ir  suffered  as  he  did  for  you,  and  you  reject 
him,  there  will  be  no  unwillingness  on  the  part  i 
God  to  inllict  torment.  Constituted  as  we  are,  it 
is  easy  for  God  to  make  us  completely  miserable, 
just  by  withdrawing  some  things  from  us.  O  my 
dear  children,  flee  from  the  wrath  to  come.  *  It  is 
a  fearful  thinij  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  livintr 
God.'  These  two  verses  in  the  prophet  Nahum 
appear  to  me  to  be  exceedingly  impressive :  '  God  is 
jealous,  and  the  Lord  revengeth,  and  is  fnriojis: 
the  Lord  will  take  vengeance  on  his  adversaries, 
and  he  reserveth  wrath  for  his  enemies.*  '  The 
Lord  is  oofld,  a  stronghold  in  the  day  of  trouble; 
and  he  knowcth  them  that  trust  in  him'  "  Sixteen 
years  afterward,  he  opened  the  book  and  added 
some  final  comments,  closing  with  the  words :  "  My 
sorrows  have  deepened  in  me  a  conviction  of  future 
endless  misery,  and  have  helped  me,  I  hope,  to  flee 
from  the  wrath  to  come.  I  am  persuaded  that  God 
is  able  and  willing  to  see  men  suffer  hereafter.  He 
can  look  on  pain,  especially  when  men  have  refused 


«4 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


a  dyinji^  Redeemer.  Oh,  may  my  children  escape 
these  things,  and  stand  with  me  before  the  Son  of 
Man." 

These  remarks  and  anecdotes  will  show  the  type 
of  reliijion  which  pervaded  our  home,  causing  us 
periods  of  distressful  fear  of  God  ;  but,  fortunately, 
our  earthly  father  was  love  and  tenderness  person- 
ified, and  though  subject,  either  from  temperament 
or  creed,  or  both  combined,  to  seasons  of  deep  de- 
pression, his  gloom  never  was  manifested  in  harsh- 
ness or  willingness  to  see  his  children  suffer. 


11. 


My  brother's  conversion,  last  recorded,  was 
soon  forgotten  ;  and,  when  about  sixteen  years  old, 
he  became  a  Christian  "  for  good,"  after  an  expe- 
rience somewhat  resembling  those  of  his  earlier 
years.  He  never  wavered  after  this  ;  but  through 
college  and  his  ministry,  until  his  lamented  death  at 
the  age  of  forty-two,  he  v/as  steadfast  in  the  faith, 
and  through  great  trials  exhibited  a  patience,  for- 
bearance and  gentleness,  which,  joined  to  the  strong 
will  and  ardent  temperament  that  he  possessed, 
caused  those  who  knew  him  best  to  regard  him  as 
a  perfect  character.  He  held  to  his  father's  theo- 
logical views  in  the  most   minute  particulars,  and 


TRAl'ELS  IX  JAITH. 


>5 


jssed, 
iim  as 
theo- 
is,  and 


in  every'  sermon  portrayed  the  terrors  of  eternal 
doom  and  the  hope  of  the  atonement.  Though  an 
orator  of  great  power,  liis  stern  theology  was  not 
relished  by  the  lax  New  England  churches,  who, 
though  professedly  holding  it  in  their  creeds, 
yielded  inconsistently  to  the  enlightened  spirit  of 
the  age,  and  tried  to  ignore  what  in  honesty  they 
should  disavow.  One  of  his  hearers  remarked  to 
me,  while  deprecating  the  plainness  of  his  preach- 
ing :  "We  don't  go  back  on  the  old  doctrines  ;  but, 
you  know,  times  have  changed,  and — eh —  You 
understand." 

We  weri  to  church  Sunday  morning,  and  to  Sun- 
day-school and  church  in  the  afternoon  ;  after 
which,  the  time  before  tea  was  recognized  as  a 
period  for  retirement  and  rcllection.  Never  sliall 
I  forget  the  mental  experiences  of  those  hours, 
and  my  efforts  in  them  "  to  become  a  Christian." 
I  would  read  a  little  in  Doddridixe's  "Rise  and 
Progress,"  Allein's  "Alarm,"  Baxter's  "Saints* 
Rest,"  or  some  other  standard  book  of  that  sort ; 
and,  having  gained  a  certain  amount  of  fervor,  I 
tried  to  convince  myself  of  sin  by  self-examination 
and  reflection  upon  my  "  ruined  state  by  nature," — 
for,  having  no  heinous  sins  of  my  own,  I  had  to 
rely  for  agony  upon  Adam's  transgression.  Then, 
I  pictured  to  my  mind  Christ's  sufferings  upon  the 
cross yi;/'  mc;  dwelt  upon  the  thorns,  the  nails,  the 
spear,  and  sought  to  impress  my  feelings  till  the 


mmmiimmmyiii' 


^!!^^^!SETSSBsmB9mmm 


I'., 
li, 
1.. 
Ill 
II'.' 
lit 


TRAVELS  "^  ''*'™- 

'*  X    Then  1  thought  1  had  gained  a  pen- 

tears  flowed.    Then  1  tno  g  ^      i^^ness,  and 

'^^"^  T  n  mv  S'et  oSe  evidence  of  conver- 
lingered  on  my  ^necb 

^'°"-        •  1  felt  a  certain  amount  of  peace 

Sometimes,  1  lelt  a  ^^^^^^     y  as 

after  these  exercises-  but  not  h^    g^^^.^  ^^^^, 

1  had  read  that  others  exp^-       ^^^  ^^  j,,^,ent 

'^  '^"r\ft  l\rten  years  of  age.  these  str.v- 

intervals,  alter  i 

ings  were  repeated  ^^^^  teachers ;  but  1 

1  had  some  go^^^^'f^'  „f  a  ..entkman  who, 
enioyed  most  the  mn..strat.ons  o  a  ^^^^^^^ 

Zr  a  few  minutes  spent  upon  th^.  r  .^^^^  ^^  ^^^ 
read  to  us  ^ -m  a  book  aboutjl^^^      ^^^^  ^^^ 
Spanish    Inqu.s,t,o  .     H^^^^^      ^^^  ^^^  ^^^,  ,,„ 
West,  having  lorgcu 

.veckly  feast  of  horrors  -  ,^;,„.     Fox's 

1  was  well  grounded  m  tne        _  ^^^^^   ^^^^^^^ 

-Book  of   Martyrs      and   t  ^^^^^.^^^^s,  it 

Primer"  were  my  f 'f  ..^'^day  books "  on  the 

being  wicked  to  look  a      ^^cc^      V     .^^.        ,,  ^y 

^-^>'  ^''^>'-     '  :r-TiiLrinStmare,  that  the  s^^^^ 
father's  room,  thiK.^^^^  ,,,  .  Primer"  was 

cton  witn  a  .->'->  n"- 

after  me.  ,       Sunday    evening 

Vividly   do  I  remember   tic  ^^^^^^  ^^^ 

gatherings  in  the  1-  ^-J-  ,     ;.,  and  we  eagerly 


5H 


^vas 

ining 
IS  and 


1 


TRAVELS  IX  FA rnr.  I, 

"  I  love  iny  Shepherd's  voice. 
His  watchful  eye  shall  keep 
My  wandering  soul  among 
The  thousands  of  his  sheep. 
He  feeds  his  flock,  he  calls  V///  ftamcs^ 
His  bosom  bears  the  ten-der  lambs." 

One  of  the  earliest  hymns  that  I  recited  was: — 

"  Welcome,  welcome,  dear  Redeemers 
Welcome  to  this  heart  of  mine." 

But  my  great  favorite  was  : — 

"  Lo  !  he  comes,  in  clouds  descending, 
Once  for  favored  sinners  slain." 

I  recall  saying,  with  broken  voice  and  intense  feel- 
ing :— 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea." 

After  the  hymns  were  said,  we  were  asked  to  tell 
anything  we  had  heard  or  thought  of  during  the 
day  ;  and,  if  we  coukl  muster  up  a  quotation  from 
a  sermon  or  a  pious  reflection  of  our  own,  we  were 
very  proud.  These  were  enjoyable  seasons,  but  I 
realize  now  how  very  emotional  they  were.  It  was 
the  climax  of  the  day,  after  which  the  evening 
singing  and  talking,  or  the  "monthly  concert  of 
prayer  for  foreign  missions"  at  Park  Street  Church, 
where  we  could  get  into  a  pew  with  other  minis- 
ters' sons,  gave  an  agreeable  reaction.  The  excite- 
ment was  not  lessened,  though  varied,  one  evening, 
when  one  of  these  boys  swallowed  the  tert-cent 
piece  destined  for  the  collection-box. 


ht^ 


s^* 


iS 


1;!' 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 

Among  my  ^^f^^'^^^^^S^^^^^S^ 
of  person,  n^ental  capacity  and  ^^  ^^  ^^^^ 

s  tion.  was  unrivalled  •"  ^^^^^  ^^'J  ^;^  to  a  degree 
knew  him.     \'^rr::irn%that  pertained  to 

approaching   •"f^^"='"°"-  „yuis  presence  was  bhss. 
Sm  was  precious  to  me  and  ^^  ^^ ^  „,;  ,  , 

even  hesitated  to  X^^^^  ,„-,ght  diminish 
be  increased,  lest  m  some  wa> 

,„y  love  (or  Artl-'.---  „  „,a-had  been 

\ly   younger   -^^^^'^^^^.tes.  urging  them  to 
writing  letters  to  her  s  hoo  ^^^^_  ^^,,    „ 

,„end  to  the  -Uat.on  ;^^^^,  _^^^  j^^,^  „y  be- 
thc  sumn^er  vacation  sq    r.  .^^^.^^^^  ,^^        j 

oved  friend,  it  "purred  U,^-      ^^.  ^^^_  ^^^^..„g  ,  he 
,„,Ue  this  the  theme  of  a  Wt^c  ^^  ^^^^.^^  . 

did  not  desire  to  be  a  Chr  s        _    ^^^  ^^^  ^^^^^^r 
■    ttidterms  sayinj  o.  Jdo^^  ^^ 

a  correspondence  vv  -^^  ^^        j^^j  ^o  become  a  Chris 
rt;li«nous  emotion.       deter  ^^^^j.^y  a,. 

^^before  1  met  1-"^/-    ;.;:,• 'u  the  resolve  to 
ernoon,  1  got  "po"  -V  ^;;^,,,a    „,e.     Vor   two 
remain    there  till    Ood  co  ^^^ 

.        hours.  1  wept.  V^^"^,^  „  e  feeling  that     had 
.        until,  tired  out.  1  ^^  J^ufu't  do  his.  and  save 
done  my  part.  and.     0 «c  ^  ^^,^^  „^,        «  the 

.      tr;;acerulsatis.icUon^^^^^^^^^^^ 
but   had   no   assurance 


'^*?!5 


TRAIELS  IN  FAiriL 


•9 


■■I 


I 


When  !  met  my  friend  in  the  fall,  our  diftidence 
was  so  great  that  not  a  word  was  said  about  our 
correspondence,  nor  was  the  subject  of  religion 
ever  alluded  to  in  our  future  conversation.  This 
evidences  the  unnaturalness  of  such  mental  exer- 
cises. He  was  converted  a  few  years  later  under 
the  influence  of  a  sermon,  and  joined  the  Church  ; 
but  his  fair  and  promising  life  was  blighted  by  dis- 
ease, and  the  hopes  inspired  by  his  exquisite  char- 
acter and  uncommon  powers  of  intellect  perished 
in  his  early  grave. 

At  the  age  of  tliree,  I  was  sent  to  school,  proba- 
bly more  with  a  view  to  be  kept  out  of  the  way 
than  for  regard  to  my  intellectual  needs.  I  can 
remember  sittimif  in  a  little  rockiui^-chair  and  learn- 
ing  to  sew  small  bags  for  holding  spools  of  thread  ; 
but  my  other  lessons  are  not  recalled,  though  it 
seems  to  me  that  i  was  born  with  the  ability  to 
read,  for  I  do  not  remember  ever  having  learned 
the  art.  At  an  early  age,  I  entered  the  Brimmer 
School,  then  in  charge  of  that  excellent  teacher, 
Mr.  Joshua  Bates,  ably  assisted  by  Mr.  John  II. 
lUitler  and  Mr.  Daniel  C.  Brow.i.  I  was  often  at 
the  head  of  my  classes,  and  devoted  much  time  out 
of  school  to  the  preparation  of  my  lessons.  I  can 
remember  sitting  in  school  with  folded  arms,  al- 
most bursting  with  self-consciousness  and  satisfac- 
tion at  my  high  rank  and  the  approval  of  my  teach- 
ers.    The  studies  were  wisely  chosen,  except  that 


90 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


f 

Ml    " 
I 


English  grammar  was  drilled  into  the  boys  by  rote 
before  they  were  capable  of  understanding  its  prin- 
ciples, and  they  still  talked  *'bad  grammar"  in  the 
playground.  All  that  I  ever  learned  in  school  of 
history,  geography,  and  physics  was  gained  here ; 
and  the  days  when  natural  philosophy  was  taught 
and  illustrated  by  experiments  with  apparatus  were 
the  most  enjoyable  days  of  my  school  life,  and,  I 
believe,  the  most  profitable.  I  was  removed  from 
these  useful  studies  before  the  last  year  of  the 
course,  in  order  to  pursue  a  more  classical  routine. 
In  a  private  school  for  a  year  I  was  confined  almost 
wholly  to  Latin,  French,  and  algebra,  and  then  en- 
tered the  Boston  Latin  School,  which  was  under 
the  charge  of  the  renowned  teacher,  Francis  Gard- 
ner. The  usual  course  of  study  required  five  years ; 
but  Mr.  Gardner  announced  that  an  "advanced  di- 
vision" would  be  formed  of  the  best  scholars,  which 
would  be  put  through  in  four  years.  My  ambition 
was  the  only  reason  for  joining  this  class,  and  led 
to  my  being  "  put  through  "  most  literally  in  one 
year.  Latin  and  French  occupied  nearly  the  whole 
of  our  attention,  but  the  former  was  the  great 
study.  Andrews  and  Stoddard's  Latin  Grammar 
had  to  be  committed  to  memory,  and  was  recited 
in  this  way.  The  first  boy  called  upon  began  the 
lesson,  then  another  was  called  at  random,  who 
must  continue  where  the  first  left  off.  If  he  failed  • 
to  do  so  accurately,  it  was  accounted  an  error,  and 


TRAVELS  IX  FAITH. 


21 


i 


i. 


every  important  word  missed  was  an  error.  The 
boys  were  told  that,  if  they  were  conscious  that  they 
could  not  have  recited  what  another  boy  was  say- 
ing or  could  not  have  answered  a  question  asked 
another,  they  must  count  an  error;  and,  at  the  close 
of  the  lesson,  each  was  asked  in  turn  how  many  er- 
rors he  had,  and  was  marked  accordini^ly.  Five  was 
the  highest  mark  given  for  lessons,  and  each  error 
caused  a  deduction  of  one ;  and,  if  as  low  a  mark 
as  two  was  given  at  any  recitation,  the  pupil  failed 
to  receive  an  approbation  card  at  the  end  of  the 
week.  A  few  conscientious  boys  counted  errors  to 
themselves ;  but  others,  among  them  some  of  the 
poorest  scholars,  never  acknowledged  errors  except 
for  public  failures.  Thus,  a  direct  premium  was 
offered  for  lying,  where  detection  was  impossible  ; 
and  my  indignation  was  intense  at  being  outranked 
sometimes  in  the  "placing"  at  the  end  of  the 
month  by  au  inferior  and  less  truthful  scholar. 
Being  morbidly  conscientious,  I  often  turned  the 
benefit  of  a  doubt  against  myself,  or  else  was  dis- 
tressed with  self-accusations  that  I  could  not  have 
recited  correctly,  if  I  had  been  called  upor.  A 
similar  rule  was  adopted  as  to  conduct.  When  Mr. 
Gardner  left  the  room,  instead  of  appointing  a 
•'monitor"  to  act  as  spy,  he  said,  "I  leave  you 
upon  your  honor."  On  his  return,  he  asked, 
"Who  have  been  out  of  order?"  The  "good 
boys"  raised  their  hands,  and  were  marked  for  dis- 


z 
o 

I 


-29 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


order ;  but  the  bad  boys,  who  had  incited  all  the 
whispering  and  mischief,  made  no  sign,  and  took 
home  their  approbation  cards  to  their  proud  parents 
at  the  end  of  the  week,  provided  their  public  lesson 
failures  had  not  forfeited  them.  This  system  of 
reciting  made  me  study  intensely.  I  could  repeat 
the  Latin  Grammar  verbatim  from  the  beginning, 
and  its  list  of  **  exceptions"  will  haunt  me  all  my 
life.  But  little  time  was  taken  for  play  ;  and  I  often 
cried  at  being  sent  to  bed  at  nine  o'clock,  in  fear 
that  I  had  not  |)roperly  memorized  my  lesson.  My 
friend  Arthur  was  in  this  class  ;  and  his  wonderful 
genius  enabled  him  to  stand  easily  first,  without 
great  effort.  I  one  month  stood  first,  but  was  usu- 
ally second,  except  when  one  of  the  non-confessors 
supersede^'  me.  I  approached  school  and  recita- 
tion with  fear  and  trembling  ;  and,  after  a  year  of 
this  strain,  headache  v/as  fastened  upon  me,  and, 
after  repeated  attempts  to  continue  with  my  class, 
I  was  obliged  to  leave  school,  and  the  family  phy- 
sician ordered  me  to  sea. 


III. 


I  HAD  made  a  voyage  to  Spain  as  a  passenger, 
an        -)s  about  to  start  on  a  voyage  to  England. 
ife  had   deadened  my   religious   impressions 


<; 


I  ^ 


I 


TRA I'ELS  A\'  FAITH. 


-3 


somewhat ;  and  the  profanity  which  prevailed  on 
shipboard  had  become  familiar  to  my  ear,  though 
not  to  my  lips.  My  brother  and  I  had  a  small 
billiard-table  in  an  upper  room,  upon  which  we  had 
given  instructions  to  some  of  the  deacons'  sons,  to 
the  scandal  of  certain  good  ladies  of  the  parish. 
A  pious  and  faithful  servant,  who  had  been  sixteen 
years  in  the  family,  tossetl  this  table  out  of  window 
one  night ;  and  we  rescued  it,  badly  broken,  from 
a  neighboring  yard  the  next  day.  That  night,  as 
Harbara  sought  her  couch,  her  bed  collapscid  in 
ruins,  and  proved  that  '*  Providence"  is  often  on 
the  side  of  small  boys  as  well  as  of  "the  heaviest 
artillery."  Let  me  record  here  that,  one  spring, 
when  the  snow  melted  in  the  West  Roxbury  woods, 
old  Barbara  was  found  peacefully  sleeping  her  last 
sleep,  v.'ith  her  head  upon  her  muff,  she  having 
strayed  away  in  the  fall  in  aberration  of  mind  and 
laid  herself  down  to  die. 

The  billiard-table  was  repaired  after  a  fashionj 
though  its  bed  was  hardly  a  dead  level ;  and,  dur- 
ing one  exciting  game  with  my  brother,  I  startled 
him,  and  myself  also,  by  uttering  my  first  oath. 
That  evening,  my  father  called  me  into  his  study, 
and  asked  me  if  I  did  not  feel  that  I  could  call  my- 
self a  Christian.  1  answered,  "No."  He  then 
asked  me  to  write  out  a  statement  of  my  religious 
feelings  which  he  might  read  to  the  examining  com- 
mittee of  the  church,  saying  that  he  would  like  to 


1 


3) 
K 
U 
> 

Z 

D 

01 

% 

J 

% 


34  TRAVELS  JN  FAITH. 

have  me  make  some  sort  of  an  avowal  before  sail- 
ing upon  another  voyage.  I  did  this,  and  accom- 
panied him  to  the  meeting,  where  my  letter  was 
read,  and  some  of  the  good  deacons  put  questions 
to  me,  which  I  answered ;  but  I  told  them  frankly 
I  did  not  feel  warranted  to  call  myself  a  Christian. 
The  ncixt  day,  I  was  astounded  at  being  told  by  my 
father  that  I  was  accepted  for  admission  to  the 
Church.  My  brother  was  little  less  than  thunder- 
struck, for  he  evidently  considered  me  less  pious 
than  I  had  ever  been.  My  father  said  he  had  long 
believed  I  was  a  Christian,  without  being  conscious 
of  it  myself,  and  that,  if  I  would  begin  and  en- 
deavor to  live  like  one,  the  evidences  would  come  to 
me.  After  my  voyage  to  England,  I  decided  to 
adopt  the  sea  as  my  profession  ;  and,  accordingly,  I 
shipped  before  the  mast  in  a  clipper  ship,  bound  on 
a  voyage  around  the  world.  At  my  father's  re- 
quest, I  joined  the  Church  ;  and  I  gradually  accus- 
tomed myself  to  the  belief  that  I  was  a  Christian. 

I  soon  after  entered  upon  life  in  a  ship's  fore- 
castle. My  surroundings  were  not  what  would  be 
called  edifying,  nor  would  they  be  considered 
*•  means  of  grace."  My  church  vows  were  a  con- 
scious restraint  upon  me,  but  neither  these  nor  the 
fear  of  God  exercised  so  strong  a  hold  upon  me  as 
my  father's  love.  He  had  been  both  father  and 
mother  to  me  ;  and  my  reverence  and  affection  for 
him  were  so  great  that  he  always  controlled  me 


i 


TRAVELS  LV  FAITH. 


=5 


without  commands,  his  usual  utterances  being,  "  I 
wouldn't  do  so,"  or  "  I  think  you  had  better  not  do 
that."  Now  that  I  was  separated  from  him,  in  any 
temptation  the  first  thought  that  came  to  me  was, 
"What  would  my  father  say?"  And  this  so  gov- 
erned mc  that,  after  years  of  roving  about  the 
world,  I  was  able  to  say  to  him  I  could  not  recall 
an  act  that  I  should  be  ashamed  to  tell  him. 

For  two  years,  between  the  ages  of  seventeen 
and  nineteen,  I  remained  on  shore  in  a  counting- 
room  in  Boston.  Heinix  thrown  ai^ain  into  reliir- 
ious  surroundings,  and  a  great  revival  being  then 
in  progress  all  over  the  land,  I  began  to  test  my 
evidences  of  conversion.  I  recalled  the  manner  of 
my  joining  the  Church  ;  and,  realizing  that  I  never 
had  anything  like  the  ecstatic  s':;nsations  which  were 
proclaimed  on  all  hands  by  new  converts,  I  fell  into 
despondency,  and  regarded  myself  as  a  false  pro- 
fessor; feared  I  had  committed  the  unpardonable 
sin,  and  grieved  away  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  that, 
in  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  I  had  eaten  and 
drank  unworthily,  and  had  thus  eaten  and  drank 
damnation  to  myself  (I.  Cor.  xi.,  29).  For  some 
months,  gloom  and  despair  haunted  me,  and  1  could 
understand  why  people  committed  suicide  ;  but,  at 
last,  I  resolved  to  think  no  more  of  the  past,  but 
to  be  a  Christian  from  the  present.  A  paper  of 
Addison's  in  the  Spectator,  No.  465,  '*  Means  of 
Strengthening    Faith,"  greatly  assisted  me,  espe- 


1 


t 
K 
Itl 
> 

Z 

K 

uJ 
H 

I 

% 

u 

% 


26 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


\l 


cially  his  first  rule, — that,  being  once  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  any  article,  we  should  never  after  suf- 
fer ourselves  to  call  it  in  question  ;  and  my  father 
taught  me  that  joy  and  peace  were  not  invariable 
accompaniments  of  conversion,  but  were  blessings 
which  God,  for  wise  purposes,  might  sometimes 
withhold  for  a  time.  Now,  1  began  a  truly  "  relig- 
ious life  "  ;  became  a  Sunday-school  teacher,  pick- 
ing up  my  class  from  the  streets  and  in  house  to 
house  visiting  ;  distributed  tracts  on  the  sly,  drop- 
ping them  on  the  Common  or  leaving  them  se- 
cretly on  seats ;  made  addresses  at  neighborhood 
meetings  among  the  poor,  and  started  a  young 
men's  prayer-meeting.  The  pastor  and  deacons 
disapproved  of  this,  and  thought  we  should  exer- 
cise our  gifts  in  the  church  prayer-meeting.  After 
awhile,  we  yielded  to  their  desires  ;  and  they  took 
pains  to  **  bring  us  forward."  I  used  to  crouch  be- 
hind a  pillar  at  the  PViday  evening  prayer-meeting, 
dreading  the  words,  **  Brother  A.,  will  you  lead  in 
prayer  ?  "  This  became  a  great  bondage  to  me  ; 
and  the  happiest  moments  of  the  week  were  when 
the  leader  said,  **  We  will  close  with  the  doxology," 
and  I  had  escaped  a  call.  All  the  week,  I  dreaded 
the  approach  of  that  evening,  yet  never  failed  to 
attend,  and  sometimes  refused  most  attractive  in- 
vitations, because  they  came  on  prayer-meeting 
night.  The  joyous  life  that  many  of  my  acquaint- 
ances led,  by  comparison,  increased  the  sombreness 


TKAlliLH  L\  1' A I  TIL 


of  my  own  ;  and  1  recall  these  two  years  as  the 
gloomiest  period  of  my  life. 

My  health  obliged  me  to  take  to  the  sea  again  ; 
and  I  followed  it  steadily  for  several  years,  work- 
ing painfully  through  all  the  grades  of  third  mate, 
second  mate,  mate,  and  captain.  The  life  was  al- 
ways uncongenial  to  me,  and  unsuited  to  my  dispo- 
sition and  tastes  ;  but  I  accepted  it  as  a  providen- 
tial calling,  and,  by  faithful  devotion  to  duty,  I  in 
a  measure  overcame  the  lack  of  natural  aptitude. 

My  voyages  were  mostly  long  ones,  in  "deep 
water,"  as  sailors  say.  I  made  short  voyages  to 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Baltic,  but  California, 
China,  the  East  Indies,  and  British  India  were  the 
most  frequent  destinations.  I  sailed  twice  around 
the  world,  and  several  times  half-way  around,  and 
back  the  same  way.  Seven  times  I  sailed  past 
Cape  Horn,  and  ten  times  I  passed  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  The  distances  sailed  on  the  various 
voyages  amount  to  about  three  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  miles. 

F'or  several  years,  I  accepted  implicitly  the 
scheme  of  theology  in  which  I  was  educated.  If  a 
question  arose  about  any  doctrine,  I  consulted  the 
Catechism  and  the  Bible  ;  and,  if  the  latter  was  not 
intelligible,  I  referred  to  Scott's  Commentary  for 
an  explanation.  What  satisfied  Thomas  Scott's 
intellect  I  thought  should  be  sufficient  for  my  hum- 
ble mind ;  but,  if  a  final  appeal  became  necessary, 


3 


n 
oc 
u 
> 

Z 

K 

< 


I 


28 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


I  consulted  my  father's  book,  "  Evenings  with  the 
Doctrines,"  and  that  settled  the  matter.  Doubt  was 
sinful»  and  sceptical  or  controversial  works  were  to 
be  read  only  by  trained  theoloj^ians  who  had  been 
skilfully  educated  to  combat  them.  The  Catechism 
i^ot  well  mixed  up  in  my  mind  with  the  Hible  and 
Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost";  and  a  Methodist  Hible- 
class  leader  at  the  Youni»-  Men's  Christian  Associa- 
tion,  j^ood  Captain  Girtller,  snubbed  me  painfully, 
when  I  asserted,  in  reply  to  his  attacks  upon  elec- 
tion, that  the  Bible  said,  God  **  hath  foreordained 
whatsoever  comes  to  pass  "  (usinjj^  the  words  of  the 
Catechism).  I  never  had  really  thou<^ht  for  myself 
upon  reliu^ious  doctrines  until  my  first  voyaj^e  as 
master  of  a  vessel,  when,  on  an  East  India  voy- 
aije,  I  visited  the  ports  of  Sin<4ai)ore  and  Penani(. 
There,  1  met  some  l^Ui^lish  missionaries  who  held 
the  doctrines  of  the  Plymouth  Brethren  ;  thoui»;h, 
when  askc!il  if  they  l)eloni;i;d  to  that  sect,  they 
answered,  •*  Oh,  dear,  no  ! "  I  learned  afterward 
that  the  Brethren  had  differed  upon  some  such 
question  as  whether  Christ  would  have  sinned  if  he 
could,  or  could  have  sinned  if  he  would  ;  and  those 
who  held  to  the  "  peccability  "  of  Christ  were  ex- 
cluded from  communion  with  the  I'lymouth  body. 
A  very  bitter  conflict  arose  ;  and  any  one  who  had 
.not  *•  judi;ed  the  evil "  was  worse  than  a  heathen 
to  the  orii^inal  sect,  led  by  John  Darby.  These 
jL^^ood    men    first    instilled    dissent   into    my  mind. 


TKAIEI.S  IN  F,\lTrf. 


29 


I  was  a  strict  Sabljatarian,  and  they  startled  nic 
with  the  declaration  that  the  Lord's  day  was  in  no 
sense  the  Sabbath.  I  believed  in  infant  baptism  ; 
and  they  taught  believer's  baptism,  with  immersion 
as  the  mode.  I  had  taken  in  all  Scott's  spiritual 
interpretations  of  the  Old  Testament  prophecies 
and  his  theory  of  the  Hook  of  Revelation,  which 
maintained  that  nearly  all  its  prophecies  had 
been  fulfdled  in  past  history,  and  soon  the  "dry- 
ing up  of  the  Euphrates" — which  meant  the  de- 
cline of  Turkey — would  be  followed  by  the  millen- 
nium. But  these  Brethren  taught  the  principle 
of  the  literal  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures, — 
that  they  might  be  read  and  understood  without 
note  or  comment  by  any  one  who  undertook 
the  task  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
They  declared  that  God  meant  what  he  said, 
and  that  it  was  a  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
explain  away  the  direct  meaning  of  his  words  by 
interpreting  all  the  promises  made  to  the  Jews 
as  foretellincf  blessin^rs  to  the  Christian  Church. 
This  principle  led  to  the  theory  that  the  Jews  would 
yet  be  restored  to  Palestine,  Christ  would  appear 
to  the  select  few  on  earth,  and  they  would  meet 
him  in  the  air  with  the  dead  saints,  who  would  rise 
in  the  first  resurrection.  Then,  the  "  marriage  sup- 
per of  the  Lamb  "  would  take  place,  and,  in  the 
mean  time,  antichrist  would  gain  power  over  the 
earth ;  but,  at  the  height  of  his  persecutions  of  the 


\ 


t 

u 
> 

Z 

D 

IT 

U 

(- 

a 
\ 


^^^^^■-^.--^.^■^jgjj^gl^^^^^gJgg^^B 


30 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


Jews,  Christ  and  his  followers  would  appear  *•  in 
flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know 
not  God."  Then,  the  kingdom  of  Christ  would  be 
established  upon  earth,  and  a  thousand  years  of 
blessedness  wouid  ensue,  after  which,  a  brief  and 
decisive  conflict  with  Satan  would  follow,  and  the 
second  resurrection  and  last  judgment  would  end 
the  record  of  this  present  world.  They  objected 
to  the  present  one-man  ministry  of  the  churches, 
and  declared  that  the  New  Testament  taught  the 
liberty  of  ministry  of  all  believers,  according  to 
their  gifts.  They  made  much  of  the  indwelling 
and  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Their  disap- 
proval of  commentators  was  chiefly  directed  tow- 
ard the  standard  works  ;  and  they  urged  me  to 
read  Macintosh's  *'  Notes,"  and  gave  me  a  good 
supjily  of  tracts  relating  to  their  views.  I  studied 
the  liible  diligently  at  sea,  and  in  time  came  to 
accept  many  of  their  doctrines. 

I  especially  saw  that  Jesus  foretold,  and  the  apos- 
tles believed  in,  his  speedy  return  to  the  earth  to 
destroy  the  wicked  and  establish  his  kingdom ;  and 
the  system  of  interpretation,  which  made  all  these 
yearning  hopes,  expressed  0.1  nearly  every  page  of 
the  New  Testament,  to  be  merely  prophetic  fore- 
casts of  spiritual  blessings  to  the  "  Church "  two 
thousand  years  later,  did  violence  to  all  my  concep- 
tions of  the  common-sense  way  of  treating  lan- 
guage.     Let  any  one  read  what  Paul  says,  "by  the 


TKA  V'ELS  IN  FAITH. 


3« 


word  of  the  Lord,"  in  I.  Thcss.  iv.,  13-18,  and  say 
if  the  expression  "7ir  that  are  aUve  and  remain 
unto  the  comini^  of  the  Lord,"  and  the  whole  tenor 
of  the  passai^e,  does  not  recjuire  the  honest  admis- 
sion that  these  events  were  looketl  for  thirin^;  th(! 
Hfetime  of  some  then  hvini^.  They  were  mistak- 
en, and  Paul's  inspiration  was  disproved  ;  but  the 
Brethren  found  some  iniienious  excuses  to  save 
this  last  admission,  thoui^h  I  now  see  them  to  be  as 
dishonest  as  the  theories  I  abandoned. 

While  at  sea,  I  took  much  interest  in  the  wel- 
fare of  sailors.  In  my  early  experience,  I  saw  and 
heard  a  j^ootl  deal  of  the  hardship  and  abuse  which 
came  to  their  lot,  nuich  of  which  seemed  to  me  un- 
necessary. To  improve  their  condition  on  ship- 
board, I  studied  control  by  moral  suasion,  improve- 
ment in  food,  and  in  the  hours  and  methods  of 
work.  To  enable  them  to  overcome  the  temptations 
of  life  in  port,  I  endeavored  to  elevate  their  char- 
acters by  iuoral  and  relii^ious  instruction,  and  their 
minds  by  lectures  and  educational  classes.  Relii,^- 
ious  services  were  held,  Hi')les  ami  tracts  freely  sup- 
plied, and  temj)erance  plcds;es  obtained.  The  re- 
sult commended  all  these  measures  to  my  i  ind. 
A  few  cases  of  conversion  occurred;  ami,  on  ^nc 
voyage,  five  professed  "  a  change  of  heart."  1 
wrote  an  account  of  this  voyat^e  for  publication, 
and  inserted  narratives  of  the  relitjious  experience 
of  the  sailors.     I  afterward  heard  such  reports  from 


3) 
CE 
Id 
> 

Z 

D 

o: 

Ul 


;iil 


*^''--  ft^KiBi     If 


t^u^tmrntmrnmama^tmrn 


3» 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH, 


\i 


four  out  of  the  five  that  I  felt  obliged  in  honesty  to 
withdraw  these  records  and  publish  the  book  with- 
out allusion  to  them.  My  views  about  sailors  w^ill 
be  found  in  "  On  Hoard  the  *  Rocket.'" 

I  found  it  easy  to  secure  resolutions  of  moral  re- 
form, but  felt  disappointed  in  my  efforts  to  secure 
"conversions."  The  inlluence  during  the  voyage 
just  mentioned  was  largely  through  a  sailor  who 
was  converted  in  the  first  month  of  the  outward 
passage,  an  ignorant  but  intensely  enthusiastic 
man,  who  aroused  the  emotions  of  his  shipmates. 
I  preached  "the  pure  gospel"  over  and  over, — sin, 
eternal  dooiii,  and  the  atonement.  But  I  thought 
often  I  should  have  succeeded  better,  as  to  the 
number  of  my  converts,  if  I  could  have  been  more 
passionate  and  less  rational.  Orthodox  conversion 
is  oftener  the  result  of  feeling  than  of  reasoning. 
"  Religion  off  Soundings,"  a  little  pamphlet  pub- 
lished by  the  American  Seaman's  Friend  Society, 
gives  my  itleas  about  religious  effort  at  sea. 

On  my  luist  India  voyages,  we  called,  for  the 
last  port,  at  Padang,  on  the  west  coast  of  Sumatra, 
to  fill  up  with  coffee  and  cassia.  The  consignee,  a 
kind  and  intelliirent  Dutch  <rentleman,  invited  me 
to  reside  with  him  ;  and  often,  in  the  evenings,  we 
sat  on  the  spacious  veranda,  stretched  out  in  re- 
clining chairs,  in  those  free-and-easy  attitudes  which 
Eastern  travellers  will  recall,  and  my  host  some 
times   indulged   in   attacks   upon   the  Bible  repre- 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


.13 


sentations  of  the  Jew's  Jehovah  and  the  Chris- 
tian's God,  while  I  stoutly  defended  the  inspired 
Word  of  God.  The  waving  palms,  the  balmy  air 
filled  with  delicious  scents,  the  singini;  beetles,  the 
glistening  fire-flies,  the  tinkle  of  the  Swiss  music- 
box,  and  the  luxurious  repose  were  suggestive  of 
paradise;  but  most  incongruous  seemed  these  blas- 
phemous attacks  upon  what  were  to  me  the  most 
sacred  ideas. 

I  found  infidelity  very  prevalent  in  the  Dutch 
settlements  of  Java  and  Sumatra,  and  I  was  told 
that  a  larire  number  of  infidel  books  had  been  scat- 
tcci!  there  some  years  before,  and  had  produced 
a  marked  effect.  The  Lutheran  minister  at  Pa- 
dang  preached  orthodox  sermons  on  Sunday,  as 
obli'":ed  by  the  government  untler  whom  he  held  his 
position  ;  but,  on  the  week  days,  he  told  his  hear- 
ers privately  *^at  \\(\  did  not  believe  the  doctrines 
he  preached.  Upon  my  return  home,  I  fortified 
myself  with  tracts  and  books  on  the  insi)iration  of 
the  Bible,  anti,  studying  these  at  sea,  J  vigorously 
contend*  d  with  my  sceptical  fri(Muls,  during  subse- 
quent visits  to  the  Iiast  India  ports.  I  never  heard 
that  I  made  any  converts  ;  but,  on  the  oth(.T  hand, 
I  got  my  mind  impressed  with  many  forcible  argu- 
ments  against  the  puritanical  theology  that  I  had 
been  taught  to  regard  as  the  final  form  of  truth. 

•  3 


\ 

a 

I 

35 

u 
> 

z 

S 
% 

u 

s 


•  ,> 


34 


TRAVELH  IN  FAITH, 


IV, 


N 


In  my  voyages  to  India  and  China,  I  was  greatly 
iniprese;ed  with  the  sight  of  the  multitudes  of  peo- 
ple and  cheir  varying  religions.  Human  life  seems 
to  be  a  weed  that  grows  rankly  over  these  lands. 
Its  individual  value  appears  to  be  small ;  and  I  was 
often  oppressed  with  the  questionings  of  my  niind 
as  to  the  immortality  of  thes  herds  of  cooli^^s,  and 
as  to  the  idea  that  God  wn  .  iccrning  himself 
separately  with  ^ich  one,  deciding  his  destiny  in 
heaven  or  hell.  As  I  visited  the  mission  rooms 
and  saw  twenty  or  thirty  of  the  elect  gathei%*xl  out 
of  a  million  heathen,  it  seemed  incredible  that 
these  were  to  be  saved,  because,  by  accidental  cir- 
cumstances, they  had  come  imJer  the  inlluence  of 
the  missionaries  anil  been  converted,  and  the  rest 
of  the  million  were  to  endure  eternal  torment. 
Adam's  sin  and  their  own  shortcoming  from  the 
teachings  of  the  creation  had  sealed  their  doom. 
These  theories  do  not  shock,  one  m)  much  in  the 
prayer-meeting  at  home,  where  one  sees  only  the 
elect,  anil  the  poor  heathen  are  ten  thousand  miles 
away  ;  but,  when  you  see  the  toiling  millions  pass 
by  you,  and  when  you  become  acquainted  with  in- 
dividuals and  find  them  to  be  brother-men  and  not 
weeds,  and  observe  kindlv  and  virtuous  traits  of 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


35 


character,  and  witness  instances  of  family  affection 
and  neighborly  benevolence,  this  whole  scheme  of 
damnation  excites  such  a  feeling  of  revolt  that  only 
the  utter  extinction  of  one's  reason  and  a  blind 
acceptance  of  **  the  Word  of  God  "  can  preserve 
one's  belief.  A  Calvinist  who  wishes  to  keep  his 
faith  should  never  travel  and  never  read  secular 
books.  By  confining  his  acquaintance  to  the  cir- 
cle of  the  church  and  feeding  his  mind  constantly 
upon  evangelical  rca'^'mg,  he  may  be  safe.  This 
is  the  life  that  many  pietists  lead  ;  but  it  is  so  un- 
natural, it  seems  impossible  that  it  can  be  right  or 
can  develop  the  best  sort  of  men. 

I  was  surprised  to  see  the  morality  that  prevail(.'d 
in  Asiatic  lands.  I  could  not  observe  that  the 
people  I  came  in  contact  with  w<ire  any  worse  than 
the  laboring  and  mercantile  classes  that  a  ship- 
master meets  in  Christian  lands;  and,  somt^times, 
the  unwelcome  conviction  was  forced  upon  me 
that  the  heathen  were  the  best.  They  were  infi- 
nitely the  most  temperate,  and  no  more  dishonest. 
The  people  who  had  not  met  with  mercantile 
Christians  were  better  in  their  habits  than  those 
who  lived  at  the  sea-ports.  The  seeming  injustice! 
of  sending  these  people  to  hell  on  account  of 
Adam's  sin  and  their  own  shortcomings  from  the 
teachings  of  the  light  of  nature  was  a  Aveight  upon 
my  mind  that  I  could  never  get  rid  of,  though  I 
trie  J  to  "  lay  my  reason  at  the  feet  of  Christ,"  a?* 


% 

I 
\ 

> 

s 


Wii\mn/-\t'rrr' 


36  r/!A  VELS  IN  FAITH. 

I  once  heard  a  Boston  lady  in  spectacles  say  at  a 
*' holiness"  meeting. 

When  I  first  visited  China,  I  was  told  by  the 
missionaries  at  Fuh  Chau  that  they  had  just  bap- 
tized the  first  convert  to  Christianity  after  eleven 
years  of  labor  in  a  district  containing  three  million 
people.  It  occurred  to  my  mind  that  God  had  not 
devised  very  effective  machinery  for  **  making  dis- 
ciples of  all  nations  " ;  and  I  recalled  the  enthusi- 
asm at  home  in  the  monthly  concert  of  prayer  for 
forcii^n  missions,  when  a  letter  from  a  missionary 
told  of  a  few  conversions,  and  how  the  leader  of 
the  meetinti^  would  tj^ive  out  the  hymn, — 

"The  inornin^ij  li«;ht  is  breaking, 
The  darkness  d"  <apnears," — 

which  would  be  suntr  with  <rreat  fervor. 

On  the  spot,  the  conversions  only  excited  a 
painful  comparison. 

My  father  was  for  thirty-six  years  a  member  of 
the  Prudential  Committee  of  the  American  Boanl 
c'  Commissioners  for  Foreij^n  Missions,  and  wa:; 
devoted  to  their  work.  In  his  later  years,  I  took 
him  on  a  voyai^e  around  the  world  in  the  ship 
**  Golden  Fleece."  At  Canton,  he  visited  the  mis- 
sions he  had  been  so  accustomed  to  delight  in  ; 
and,  when  he  saw  the  result  of  all  these  years  of 
effort  and  contrasted  it  with  the  vast,  surj^inof  tide 
of  heathenism  that  rolled  around  him,  he  was 
greatly  depressed,  and  said  to  me,  **  I  don't  believe 


TRAVELS  JN  FAITH. 


37 


the  world  will  ever  be  converted  by  the  pre&chin<r 
of  the  gospel." 

These  impressions  never  made  me  disparage 
missionary  effort  ;  for  I  believed  it  did  somi:  good, 
and  was  necessary  to  Christian  consistency.  It 
only  excited  wonder  at  God's  way  of  doing  things. 
How  an  omnipotent  and  benevolent  God  should 
fail  to  spread  his  "glad  tidings  of  great  joy"  to  all 
people  in  an  effective  way  was  beyond  my  com- 
prehension. He  evidently  had  miraculous  power 
enough,  and  had  exercised  it  on  very  trivial  occa- 
sions in  the  past.  Did  he  not  make  iron  swim  to 
recover  an  axe  ?  Did  he  not  destroy  two  com- 
panies of  fifty  men  with  fire  from  heaven,  because 
their  captains  did  not  invite  lilijah  in  a  respectful 
manner  to  "come  down"  ?  Did  he  not  send  two 
bears  to  tear  forty-two  children  ^vho  had  called 
names  in  the  street  ?  Did  he  not  make  the  sun 
and  moon  stand  still  until  the  people  had  avenged 
themselves  upon  their  enemies?  If  he  could  do 
such  things  for  mere  wonder  or  revenge,  why 
should  not  love  call  forth  his  power,  when  count- 
less myriads  of  heathen  arc  going  down  to  ever- 
lasting perdition  for  lack  of  a  revelation  they  can 
understand  ?  All  this  confounded  and  oppressed 
me,  and  I  found  no  peace  save  in  unquestioning 
submission  and  refusal  to  think. 

In  later  voyages  to  the  East  Indies,  I  found  that 
the  Holy  Ghost  was  leJiding  the  good  "  Brethren  * 


I 

B 
a 

a 

55 

K 
kJ 

> 

Z 

0 

% 


Wteii^M 


tmm 


j» 


THAI' ELS  IN  FAITH. 


to  differ  amon^  themselves,  some  becoming  so  ex- 
clusive in  their  separation  from  evil  that  they  could 
only  recognize  the  true  Church  of  God  as  existing 
in  their  own  gatherings.  An  adventurer  came  to 
.Singapore,  announcing  that  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
'gathering  the  Lord's  people  to  await  his  coming 
at  the  town  of  Wellington  in  South  Africa,  where 
all  the  prophecies  of  blessing  were  being  fulfilled. 
He  assembled  a  few  brethren  and  sisters  in  a 
room  ,  and,  after  hours  of  intense  prayer,  some 
were  seized  with  an  ecstasy  which  was  called  re- 
ceiving the  Holy  Ghost.  One  of  the  sisters  was 
prevailed  upon  to  go  to  South  Africa,  and  she 
wrote  back  letters  enthusiastically  declaring  that 
•*  the  half  had  not  been  told  her."  I  afterward  met 
in  China  a  captain  in  the  British  army,  who,  under 
the  influence  of  this  man,  gave  up  his  commission, 
and  prepared  to  go  to  South  Africa.  But,  at  Sin- 
gapore, he  learned  that  the  man's  lady  travelling- 
companion  was  not  his  wife,  he  having  left  that 
person  beliind  when  he  became  '*  the  Lord's  free- 
man." This  opened  the  captain's  eyes  ;  and,  de- 
clarin<r  that  the  Lord  did  not  countenance  de- 
bauchery,  he  changed  his  plans,  greatly  shaken  up 
in  mind. 

Arriving  in  San  Francisco  after  a  passage  around 
Cape  Horn  of  nearly  five  months,  in  which  I  had 
attained  to  a  great  degree*  of  faith  and  consecration 
through  constant  study  of  the  Bible  and  the  liter- 


U^m 


■  W  I  11  I  mill  II  JM»ri ^^^^nnfiifgf^^g^f^ 


7'A'A  I  ELS  IN  FAITIf. 


39 


ature  of  the  Hrcthrcn,  1  experienced  ii  ^reat  shock 
from  the  words  and  demeanor  of  the  ministers 
and  Christians  of  that  city.  I  wciit  to  hear  nine 
preachers  while  there  ;  and  none  of  them  showed 
any  knowledu^e  of  the  Christian's  calHni;  out  of 
the  world,  and  none  of  them  preached  salvation 
by  Christ.  I  wrote  in  my  journal  :  "  Ear-tickliniL; 
and  soul-lullincr  orations  about  benevolence,  moral 
duties,  or  Scripture  history,  formed  the  sermons  ; 
and.  if  any  direction  was  j^iven  to  sinners,  it  was 
such  as  Moses  preached  before  the  rij^lueousness 
of  (iod  without  the  law  had  been  manifested. 
Nor  did  I  meet  with  any  warm-hearted  Christians. 
All  seemed  to  think  more  of  dress,  amusement, 
Pacific  railroad  and  China  steamers  than  of  their 
Lord.  It  seemed  impossible,  from  the  words  and 
attitudes  of  all  these,  that  we  were  instructed  to 
*  love  not  the  world,  neither  the  thincfs  that  arc  in 
the  world,' and  to  watch  for  our  Lord's  coming;; 
for  no  one  seemed  to  act  upon  such  an  idea,  and 
yet  they  read  their  Hibles  or  studied  th(!olonry 
continually."  I  could  not  answer  this  fact  by  the 
brethren's  swcepinij^  condcMiination  of  all  believers 
but  themselves;  and,  havint^  seen  their  own  vari- 
ance of  opinion,  it  appeared  that  the  infallible 
guide,  the  Holy  Spirit,  led  each  prayerful  believer 
to  distinct  and  differing  views,  often  utterly  op- 
posing those  of  other  equally  devout  and  prayer- 
ful believers.     My  mind  was  not  satisfied  by  the 


3 


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> 

2 

u 
'♦- 
,cn 
<: 

S 


fci  )    'M.m.-i,A^^.ij.^^i^^^ 


mki 


40  7V?y*  P^£LS  IN  FAITH. 

theory  that  these  views  of  truth  were  like  differ- 
ent views  of  a  mountain  from  various  points  of 
observation,  and  were  capable  of  union  into  a  har- 
monious whole,  when  seen  from  God's  standpoint. 
The  only  solution  of  the  differences  among  Chris- 
tians and  of  the  ever-varying  religions  and  views 
which  I  found  to  prevail  all  over  the  world  ap- 
peared to  my  mind  to  be  that  every  man  makes 
his  own  religion  in  accordance  with  his  surround- 
ings  and  the  constitution  of  his  mind. 

A  friend  had  presented  me  with  Herbert  Spen- 
cer's book,  **  Illustrations  of  Universal  Proirress." 
I  had  trlanced  at  it  and  laid  it  aside  ;  for  I  had  never 
in  my  life  read  a  book  opposed  to  Orthodoxy,  and 
I  had  understood  he  was  one  of  the  vain  men,  who, 
by  '*  oppositions  of  science,  falsely  so  called,"  were 
striving  to  make  the  word  of  God  of  none  effect. 
But,  about  this  time,  I  took  it  up,  and  found  that 
its  theories  about  religion  agreed  with  my  observa- 
tion and  experience.  He  applied  the  law  of  evo- 
lution to  religion,  commencing  with  the  savage's 
worship  of  his  dead  chief,  which  developed  into 
the  conception  of  a  deity,  who,  at  first  human  in 
all  things,  has  been  o;raduallv  losimj  human  like- 
ness,  each  race  of  men  forming  ideas  of  God  in 
accordance  with  their  own  intelligence  and  desires. 
He  says,  **  As  humanity  is  a  growth  and  not  a 
manufacture,  men's  theologies  must  be  determined 
into  such  forms  as  the  conditions  require" ;  and  it 


TKAl'lil.a  JX  lAITlL 


41 


follows  *•  that  the  rclii^ious  creeds  tlirough  which 
mankind  successively  pass  are,  durini^  the  eras  in 
which  they  are  severally  held,  the  best  that  could 
be  held."  The  human  orii^in  of  all  religion  thus 
seemed  to  explain  all  my  difticulties. 

I  sailed  for  the  west  coast  of  Mexico,  and  expe- 
rienced a  reaction  from  the  fervor  which  had  char- 
acterized my  thoughts  on  the  outward  passage.  I 
subsided  into  an  indifference  about  religious  truth, 
which,  during  two  months'  stay  on  th.e  lonely  coast 
of  Mexico,  degenerated  still  further  into  doubts 
concerninLT  the  whole  scheme  of  Christian  theol- 
ogy.  I  thought  Satan  was  let  loose  upon  me ; 
for  every  form  of  infidelity  came  flooding  upon 
my  mind,  and  I  could  not  read  a  chapter  in  the 
Bible  without  rationalistic  suggestions  of  its  im- 
probability or  overestimated  import.  I  still  kept 
up  services  with  my  sailors,  though  I  preached 
what  was  not  very  authoritative  to  my  own  mind. 
I  hope  preachers  on  shore  never  do  this.  I  re- 
member walking  off  into  the  i)ionti\  as  the  Mexi- 
cans call  the  wild-brush-covered  plains,  and  in  the 
evening  twilight  I  stretched  out  my  arms  to  heav- 
en, and  with  intense  feeling  called  on  God  to  re- 
veal himself  to  me,  and  convince  me  of  the  truth 
of  what  claimed  to  be  his  written  word,  iiut  no 
answer  came.  Some  weeks  after,  when  sailing 
toward  Cape  Horn,  my  c^  lOtions  were  strongly 
aroused  by  one  of  those  trade-wind  sunsets,  which 


t 

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,7) 
< 

u 


TRAVELS  JN  FAITH. 


only  voyagers  know,  whose  glories  the  ablest  pens 
would  fail  to  describe.  Suddenly,  the  words  came 
to  me,  **  Now  is  Christ  risen  from  the  dead."  I 
started  at  the  seeming  lack  of  connection  with  my 
thoughts,  and  said  :  "Is  it  true  ?  If  so,  the  teach- 
ings of  Christ  and  his  apostles  are  true.  I  can  be- 
lieve anything,  if  that  fact  is  established."  I  search- 
ed the  Scrijjturcs,  aided  by  Scott's  and  Lange's 
Commcn'^arics  and  Gilbert  West's  treatise  on  the 
Resurrection  ;  and  my  faith  increased.  I  made 
no  critical  study  of  the  text  for  myself,  but  read 
the  conclusions  of  these  critics.  The  story  seemed 
well  vouched  for  ;  and,  in  the  course  of  my  daily 
study  of  the  Greek  Testament,  I  came  upon  Paul's 
charge  to  Timothy,  *'  Remember  Jesus  Christ  risen 
from  the  dead,"  implying  that  this  was  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Christian  faith.  As  such  I  resolved  to 
receive  it,  and  I  determined  to  doubt  no  more. 

I  read  Pai'.l's  warning  to  Timothy,  "  that  in  the 
last  days  perilous  times  shall  come,"  "that  some 
shall  depart  from  the  faith,  giving  heed  to  seduc- 
ing spirits  and  doctrines  of  devils " ;  and,  in  his 
Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians,  I  read,  *'  God  shall 
send  them  strong  delusion,  that  they  should  believe 
a  lie."  So  I  tried  to  believe  that  all  these  logical 
conclusions  and  most  reasonable  ideas  that  seemed 
so  to  agree  with  my  observation  and  common  sense 
were  only  delusions  characteristic  of  the  last  time, 
and  proved  that  the  Lord  was  truly  at  hand.     So 


TRAVELS  IN  lAITJI. 


4J 


firm  a  hold  had  my  Bible  taken  of  mc  that  reason 
was  doomed  to  a  still  Ioniser  subjection  to  a  blind 
faith,  and  for  years  all  the  light  of  science  and  the 
wisdom  of  the  age  were  rejected  as  delusions  it 
was  dangerous  and  sinful  to  encounter. 

I  thouirht  my  feelintx  of  consecration  mii^dit  be 
increased  if  I  went  through  the   form  of  believers' 
baptism  ;  and,  after  the  end  of  the  voyage,  I  was 
immersed,  one  cool  October  day,  in  a  New  Jersey 
lake,  by  Mr.  James  Inglis,  editor  of  the  Witness,  a 
monthly  paper  devoted  to  the  truths  of  Brethren- 
ism  minus  its  exclusiveness,  though  Mr.  Inglis  had, 
like  most  of  the  Brethren  whom   I  have    known, 
gradually  withdrawn  from*  fellowship  with  others, 
and    was    accustomed    '*  to    break  bread"  on   the 
Lord's  Day  in  his  own  house  with   .ny  friends  who 
chanced  to  come.     After  ihe  plunge,  he  kept  me 
standing  dripping  on  the  shore,  while  he  maile  a 
gospel   address    to  the  dozen    stragglers  who  at- 
tended us.     I   never  had   placed   any  stress  ujion 
the  mode  of  baptism  ;  but  I  imbibed  a  strong  opin- 
ion of  the  unseemliness  of  this    mode,  and  ever 
after  doubted  if  immersion  had  been  divinely  pre- 
scribed for  all  climes  and  periods,  though  I  believed 
that  baptism  was  only  to  be  used  as  the  sign  of 
the  faith  of  its  recipient.     I  may  add  that  I  read 
books  in  favor  of  infant  baptism,  but  nothing  on 
the  other  side  except  the   Bible.     No  increase  of 
*•  holiness"  came  to  me;  but,  by  resolutely  refus- 


a 

3 


kJ 

> 


44 


■■ffcoti 


/'A' A  VELS  IN  FAJTIL 


ing  to  reason  and  keeping  my  sympathies  warm  in 
religious  work,  1  kept  on  for  years  sincerely  lead- 
ing a  Chistian  life.  I  sa""  that  many  wise  and 
learned  men  were  able  to  accept  Christianity  in 
spite  of  the  light  of  modern  science,  and  I  clung 
to  their  faith  as  an  arirumcnt  for  the  maintenance 
of  my  own. 


V. 


After  fifteen  years  of  sea  life,  I  settled  down  to 
business  on  shore,  establishing  myself  in  Montreal. 
A  perusal  of  "  Theodore  Parker's  Experience  as  a 
Minister"  at  this  time,  let  loose  my  reason  and 
;u*oused  the  old  doublings.  My  father  had  ob- 
tained the  book  to  assist  him  in  writing  a  contro- 
versial article  against  Parker's  views,  but  the  book 
rendered  an  opposite  service  to  his  son..  Two 
words  had  a  great  effect  upon  me.  He  spoke  of 
]\Ioscs  as  a  **  Hebrew  iilibuster."  I  was  shocked 
at  his  irreverence  in  thus  speaking  of  the  man  of 
God ;  but,  on  reflection,  I  asked.  Why  did  the  in- 
road of  the  Hebrews  upon  Canaan  differ  in  princi- 
ple from  the  attacks  of  the  American  filibusters 
upon  Cuba  and  Mexico?  It  opened  up  a  natural 
view  of  the  Hebrew  wars,  and  brought  the  Bible 
down  to  a  common-sense  interpretation.  For  a 
year,  I  was  in  ^reat  danger  of  an  abandonment  of 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


4S 


faith,  and  rationalistic  suggestions  often  crowded 
upon  my  mind. 

The  delight  of  a  home,  after  all  my  wanderings, 
was  intensely  enjoyed  ;  and  I  developed  some  love 
for  this  woiiii  and  coohu^ss  towartl  th<!  n(.«xl,  which 
led  a  good  evangelist  to  warn  me  that  *'  (iod  would 
stir  up  my  nest,"  if  I  took  too  much  comfort  in  it. 
Havincf  made  church  connections,  I  soon  «jfot  to 
work  again  in  "the  Loid's  vineyard,"  became  su- 
perintendeni  of  a  Sunday-school,  preached  at  a 
mission  chapel  Sunday  evenings,  and  through  the 
week  took  part  in  prayer  and  temperance  meet- 
ings, and  worked  to  provide  for  the  maintenance 
of  a  sailors'  institute.  All  this,  besides  an  engross- 
ing business,  carried  on  "for  Christ,"  left  me  no 
time  for  reading,  rellection,  or  conversation,  except 
in  the  line  of  my  religious  and  business  duties. 

God  "stirred  up  my  nest"  most  effectually  with 
severe  afllictions,  though  I  could  not  see  that  they 
were  judgments,  unless  it  was  for  being  too  relig- 
ious, as  some  of  the  trials  were  directly  traceable 
to  my  pious  efforts.  If  I  ever  took  a  vacation  or 
stopped  to  think,  my  reason  began  tc  attack  my 
theology  ;  and  my  only  escape  was  to  plunge  back 
into  the  old  career,  and  resolve  never  to  doubt. 
My  Christian  friends  now  assure  me  these  afflic- 
tions were  **  the  loving  chastisement  of  the  Lord," 
on  account  of  "  the  incipient  stages  of  what  has 
now  become  open  rebellion  against  the  Almighty.* 


UJ 

> 


2 

u 

s 


.^^mmm-'nrr  Vf^r 


46 


TA'^  VELS  IN  h'AJTn, 


A  business  visit  to  Europe  broke  up  this  mind 
burial  and  let  loose  my  reason  ag^ain,  and  it  never 
was  subdued  aftenvard.  I  recall  a  decided  mental 
experience  at  Hamburg.  One  Sunday  morning,  I 
attended  a  Lutheran  church ;  and  its  candles  and 
papist  forms  of  worship  illustrated  another  of  the 
innumerable  interpretations  by  God's  people  of 
"God's  revealed  will."  In  the  afternoon,  I  visited 
the  Zoological  Gardens,  which  were  thronged  by 
respectable,  orderly  people  with  their  families,  who 
studied  the  rare  animals  and  various  interestinof 
and  instructive  collections,  listened  to  good  music, 
and  partook  of  refreshments.  All  this  was  wicked 
to  Puritanism,  but  it  seemed  good  to  common- 
sense  that  the  working  man's  day  of  leisure  should 
be  employed  in  such  a  manner.  Why  it  could  be 
better  to  stay  at  home  and  read  how  God  slaugh- 
tered the  Canaanites  ;  how  Jael  murdered  her  con- 
fiding guest  Siseni,  and  was  declared  "blessed 
above  women  "  for  it ;  or  study  the  order  of  the 
service  of  the  Jewish  tabernacle, — was  a  puzzle.  I 
recalled  that  some  Christians  kept  the  Jewish  Sab- 
l)ath  still, — ate  cold  dinners,  shaved  on  Saturday, 
and  kept  (juiet  all  Sunday  except  when  "walking 
decently  to  and  from  the  house  of  God,"  as  the 
"  blue  laws  "  express  it. 

Others  believed  the  Sabbath  was  abrogated  by 
Christ  ;  and  the  Lord's  day,  a  day  of  worship  and 
religious  joy,  had  taken  its  place.     Paul  said  he 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


47 


was  afraid  of  people  who  observed  Sabbaths,  and 
some  Christians  regard  the  day  wholly  in  a  spir- 
itual light.  Some  observe  Saturday,  and  others 
Sunday.  And  here  on  the  Continent  were  other 
Christians  deliberately  breaking  the  fourth  com- 
mandment and  desecrating  the  Sabbath,  according 
to  our  notions  of  God's  law.  The  confusion  of 
ideas  about  the  day,  its  origin,  its  object,  the  au- 
thority for  its  change  from  Saturday  to  Sunday, 
impressed  me  anew  with  the  uncertain  nature  of 
God's  revelation  ;  and  why  a  God  of  intelligence 
could  not  speak  plainly  on  such  a  point  was  past 
comprehension.  The  superior  benefit  toman  from 
this  feature  of  man's  way  of  observing  the  day  in 
Germany  over  **  God's  way  "  in  New  England  was 
too  evident  to  reason  to  be  denied;  and  the  whole 
history  of  the  day  through  the  ages,  from  all  that 
I  could  learn  by  a  careful  study  of  Christian 
writers,  only  enforced  the  idea  that  men  in  each 
age  had  made  their  own  ideas  to  be  God's  law. 
From  that  day,  the  conviction  never  slumbered, 
though  sometimes  somewhat  suppressed. 

The  strain  of  this  combined  reliLrious  and  busi- 
ness  life  proved  unfavorable  to  health,  and  three 
years  were  passed  in  travel  or  residence  with  my 
family  in  other  cities  for  the  purpose  of  recupera- 
tion Observation  of  different  nations  in  Europe 
supplied  fresh  illustrations  of  the  great  diversity 
of  religious  opinions,  and  the  uniform  standard  of 


Ua» 


iMfUlik 


imM^^jbtt^giggtmmmi 


48 


T^A  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


morality  and  demeanor  among  all  people.  In 
thrift,  neatness,  courtesy,  and  good  behavior,  the 
inhabitants  of  Catholic  and  "  infidel  "  France  were, 
to  say  the  least,  not  inferior  to  those  of  Protestant 
England  and  Scotland  ;  nor  did  free-thinking  Hol- 
land and  Germany  appear  to  disadvantage  in  com- 
parison with  Calvinistic  Switzerland.  An  investi- 
gation into  the  various  "  isms"  for  which  Boston  is 
noted  showed  numbers  of  equally  good  and  ear- 
nest people  engaged  in  propagating  varying  views 
of  what  to  each  one  was  **  God's  truth."  The 
claim  of  aiiy  one  of  these  differing  sects  to  be  the 
divinely  inspired  custodians  of  revelation,  while  all 
others  were  more  or  less  deceived  in  their  equally 
confident  opinions,  appeared  to  me  to  be  a  com- 
bination of  arrogance  and  ignorance ;  and  my  rev- 
erence for  the  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  compelled 
me  to  believe  that,  if  he  undertook  to  make  a  rev- 
elation, good,  intelligent  people  would  understand 
it  alike. 

On  board  a  steamer  returning  from  England,  I 
came  across  Baine's  "  Age  of  Reason."  I  had  avoid- 
ed reading  this  or  any  other  sceptical  book  while 
my  mind  was  unsetthxl ;  but,  now  that  my  convic- 
tions were  clearer  as  to  the  human  origin  of  **  reve- 
lation," I  ventured  to  read  it.  My  astonishment  at 
its  lofty  sentiment,  religious  aspiration,  and  pure 
morality  was  intense  ;  for  was  not  this  "  the  worst 
of  books"?     Its  coarseness  consisted  in  ridiculing 


TRAVELS  /N  FAITJt. 


4«> 


what  was  indecent,  immoral,  and  absurd  in  the 
Bible ;  and  its  lo^ic  and  demonstration  seemed  to 
my  mind  unanswerable.  Modern  scholarship  has 
cleared  up  a  few  points  among  the  mass  of  matter 
that  he  criticizes;  but  his  book  still  exists  as  a  con- 
vincing demonstration  that  the  Hible  is  composed 
of  human  ideas,  and  not  of  the  words  of  God.  As 
Paine's  writings  cannot  be  overthrown  by  learning 
and  reason,  scorn  and  calumny  are  used  as  the 
only  remaining  weapons.  Let  each  read  it  for 
himself.  If  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God,  it  need 
not  fear  the  criticism  of  Paine.  Criticisms  and 
reviews  of  all  other  literature  are  deemed  valua- 
ble in  proportion  to  their  exposure  of  defects  and 
falsity,  but  with  the  Bible  only  adulatory  criticism 
is  tolerated. 

Paine  treats  the  Bible  as  all  bools  should  be 
treated  by  common-sense  people  in  an  ago  of  rea- 
son ;  and  the  word  of  God  certainly  should  be  able 
to  bear  such  examination.  But  his  criticism  proves 
it  to  be  the  word  of  man.  I  soon  after  bouirh^  a 
copy,  and  procured  from  the  American  Tract  So- 
ciety Bishop  Watson's  "  Reply  to  Paine,"  said  to 
be  a  perfect  refutation  of  this  attack  upon  the  in- 
spiration of  the  Bible.  I  read  these  two  books 
chapter  by  chapter  alternately,  and  tried  to  weigh 
the  arguments  fairly.  Paine's  keen,  logical  analy- 
sis, couched  in  the  most  lucid  and  forcible  English, 


x"wvv«'  r  -F*  jr  Kwr 


I  tl  idriiiniim 


mi 


SO 


TJiAV/iLS  IN  FAITH. 


was  proof  against  the  Bishop's  pompous  denuncia- 
tion and  stale  argument. 

After  my  return  to  America,  I  spent  a  year  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Boston,  and  devoted  myself 
to  reading  the  thought  of  the  day,  especially  what 
related  to  the  genuineness  and  authenticity  of  the 
Bible,  the  laws  of  evolution  and  political  economy, 
and  some  social  problems. 

The  proofs  of  the  theory  of  development,  as  por- 
trayed in  the  writings  of  Darwin,  Haeckel,  and 
Spencer,  seemed  in  the  main  to  be  unanswerable: 
and  I  found  that  almost  every  scientist  in  the 
world  had  in  a  great  measure  accepted  the  evolu- 
tion theory.  I  paid  great  respect  to  the  opinions 
of  the  eminent  exception  that  exists  in  Montreal, 
to  whose  character  and  ability  we  all  do  honor,  and 
of  whom,  as  citizens,  we  are  justly  proud.  But  his 
objections  did  not  satisfy  me,  and  were  overborne 
by  the  overwhelming  testimony  of  the  great  schol- 
ars who  have  left  him  almost  alone  to  the  support 
of  the  theories  of  the  past. 

1  therefore  found  a  scientific  foundation  for  my 
doubts  about  revelation;  and,  in  the  words  of  John 
Fiske,  I  came  to  believe  in  '*  divine  action  through 
natural  law,  instead  of  in  divine  action  through 
supernatural  fiat."  The  Book  of  Genesis  and  its 
creation  stories  I  found  to  be  disproved  beyond 
any  possibility  of  reconciliation,  and  I  could  only 
regard   it  as  the  record  of  Ifebrew  guesses  about 


TRAVELS  IN  FA  I  Tit. 


5' 


nature.  The  truth  of  the  unfailing  succession  of 
cause  and  effect  overthrew  all  possibihty  of  mir- 
acle ;  and  I  found  it  easier  to  believe  in  the  fallibil- 
ity of  the  Bible  writers,  both  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments,  than  in  the  violation  of  the  order  of 
nature. 

The  theories  of  evolution  trave  me  a  reasonable 
conception  of  the  universe,  and  seemed  to  put 
solid  ground  under  my  feet.  But  for  their  dis- 
proof of  supernaturalism,  I  might  not  have  suc- 
ceeded in  shaking  off  the  thraldom  of  tradition,  so 
strong  was  the  bond  of  educational  and  social  in- 
fluences that  held  me.  Every  motive  of  self-inter- 
est in  life  held  me  to  Orthodoxy,  and  only  what 
seemed  to  me  absolute  proof  of  its  falsity  could 
have  led  me  to  renounce  its  connection  and  asso- 
ciations. The  path  of  worldly  advancement^  now 
lies  through  the  church.  My  good  father  said  to 
me  on  the  eve  of  my  departure  for  Montreal,  "  I 
do  not  think  we  should  be  religious  for  the  sake  of 
gain,  but  I  believe  there  is  no  surer  means  of  ad- 
vancement than  to  be  a  reputable  member  of  a 
respectable  church."  I  found  it  popular  to  be  a 
Christian,  and  experience  convinces  me  that  it  is 
he,  who  conscientiously  leaves  the  church,  who 
knows  what  it  is  to  •'  take  up  the  cross  and  follow 
Jesus." 

It  would  be  tedious  to  dwell  upon  the  varied 
proofs,  furnished  by  evolution,  of  the  orderly  de- 


I 


8 


52 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


velopment  of  matter  and  mind  through  past  ages, 
without  interference  from  either  God  or  devil ;  and 
I  presume  it  is  unnecessary  to  do  so,  for  the  high- 
est authorities  tell  us  that  every  learned  man  in 
the  world,  who  is  not  hampered  by  conventional 
theological  tics,  has  accepted  the  theory  of  evolu- 
tion. 

Nor  can  I  enlarge  upon  my  consideration  of  the 
deep  questions  of  the  existence  of  evil,  God's  sov- 
ereignty and  man's  free  agency,  and  all  the  range 
of  Calvinistic  dogma.  Day  by  day,  I  pondered 
upon  these  themes ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  tell  the 
mental  experiences  of  years  in  a  few  pages. 

I  studied  the  history  of  other  religions  and  the 
character  of  their  sacred  books ;  and  I  found 
Christianity  to  be  the  natural  development  out  of 
the  dogmas  and  traditions  of  India,  Persia,  Egypt, 
Palestine,  and  Greece,  just  one  step,  and  a  great 
step,  in  advance  on  the  path  of  luiman  progress, 
but  destined  to  lead  to  the  step  of  the  religion  oi" 
evolution  and  still  onward. 

I  found  all  the  great  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
such  as  trinity,  miraculous  conception,  atonement 
and  resurrection,  paralleled  or  foreshadowed  in  the 
beliefs  of  many  lands. 

But  I  resolved  to  take  my  stand  upon  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  as  I  had  done 
once  before,  but  not  to  read  it  in  commentaries 


IK  A  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


53 


this  time  ;  for  this  is  the  foundation  stone  of  the 
Christian  rdigion. 

I  wrote  out  in  parallel  columns  all  the  testimo- 
nies of  evangelists  and  apostles  to  the  resurrection 
and  ascension,  and  compared  each  division  mi- 
nutely. I  advise  others  to  do  this,  and  judge  for 
themselves.  "  God's  Word  "  should  be  able  to  tell 
its  own  story  and  produce  conviction. 

To  my  mind,  this  story  bears  all  the  marks 
which  characterize  hui  in  legends  ;  and  the  dis- 
crepancies  are  such  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe 
that  the  vital  truth  of  the  Christian  rclitrion  would 
not  have  been  more  impressively  stated,  if  God 
undertook  to  reveal  it  to  a  world  that  would  per- 
ish without  it.  There  is  a  great  array  of  literature 
on  this  subject,  if  any  wish  to  read  human  opinions 
about  it.  I  found  also  that  contemporary  history 
was  utterly  silent  about  this  marvellous  event,  and 
even  about  the  existence  of  such  a  man  as  Jesus. 

As  I  have  said,  I  took  great  interest  in  foreign 
missions  during  my  voyages  to  Asia ;  and  it  seemed 
unaccountable  why  God,  who  wishes  all  men  to 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,  should  have 
himself  created  the  principal  obstacle  to  their  doing 
so.  The  chief  difficulty  in  spreading  ideas  among 
heathen  nations  has  been  their  varying  languages. 
The  missionary  or  teacher  has  had  to  spend  a  life- 
time in  learning  a  new  language,  inventing  an  al- 
phabet, reducing  words  to  writing,  and  translating 


en 
a: 

UJ 

> 

2: 

cr 

UJ 

o 
2 


54 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


v\ 


the  word  of  God,  as  nearly  as  his  ingenuity  will 
enable  him  to  express  involved  ideas,  where  no 
words  exist  which  can  convey  the  sense  God  has 
revealed  to  English-speaking  people  through  sev- 
eral other  languages.  Meantime,  another  genera- 
tion has  perished,  while  the  saving  truth  has  been 
in  preparation. 

The  Bible  tells  us  that  God  got  angry  with  a 
few  men  in  the  land  of  Shinar,  who  were  trying  to 
build  a  tower  that  would  reach  to  heaven.  God 
was  evidently  alarmed,  and  said,  "  Now,  nothing 
will  be  restrained  from  them,  which  they  have  im- 
agined to  do."  So  "the  Lord  did  there  confound 
the  lano^uatife  of  all  the  earth."  He  all  the  time 
was  **  not  willing  any  should  perish,"  and  had 
"  foreordained  "  all  that  should  come  to  pass,  or 
at  least  knew  what  would  happen.  He  intended 
that  the  gospel  should  be  preached  to  all  men 
under  heaven  ;  and  yet,  for  fear  that  some  men 
would  climb  into  heaven  by  means  '^^  a  brick  wall, 
he  destroyed  the  universal  language,  and  inter- 
posed the  greatest  possible  hindrance  to  the  spread 
of  the  truth.  In  order  to  embarrass  these  brick- 
layers, he  left  millions  of  heathen  to  perish,  caused 
countless  wars,  and  delayed  the  civilization  and 
enlightenment  of  the  world  for  ages,  by  prevent- 
ing men  from  understanding  one  another.  A  gor,d 
God  would  not  have  done  this.  A  wise  God 
would  not  have  eiven  himself  such  a  bad  charac- 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


55 


ter ;  and  an  intelligent  God  would  not  have  feared 
that  men  could  build  "unto  heaven,"  and  jump  off 
into  it  while  the  earth  was  revolving  so  swiftly  on 
its  axis.  I  perceived  this  story  to  be  the  myth  of 
an  ignorant  people. 


VI. 


I  COULD  fill  volumes  with  the  record  of  my  study 
and  questioning  about  Bible  doctrines.  I  had  be- 
lieved that  a  Christian  should  be  a  man  of  one 
book.  I  enjoyed  a  great  deal  of  leisure  when  in 
command  of  vessels  upon  long  voyages,  and  my 
tastes  were  almost  entirely  literary.  This  convic- 
tion of  the  paramount  importance  of  religion  led 
me  to  concentrate  all  my  reading  upon  the  Bible 
and  theological  books.  I  [)rocured  Lange's  Com- 
mentaries as  they  were  published,  and  read  several 
of  the  volumes  from  beginning  to  end.  One  voy- 
age was  devoted  chiefly  to  the  study  of  the  Greek 
Testament.  I  look  back  with  regret  upon  these 
years,  which,  if  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  facts 
of  nature,  would  have  made  me  a  learned  man  ; 
but,  instead  of  this,  I  was  trying  to  discover  the 
probable  course  of  future  events  by  comparing  the 
obscure  rhapsodies  of  Hebrew  prophets  and  poets, 
or  in  trying  to  learn  the  mind  of  God  by  studying 


S 


3 

S5 

u 

21 


56. 


TRA  VELS  IX  FAITH. 


i  ^ 


the  fragmentary  remains  of  the  writings  of  bar- 
barous, or  less  enlightened  ages  than  the  present. 
I  will  not  call  it  wasted  time,  because  it  has  in  the 
end  taught  me  that  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  are  to 
be  judged  by  the  samo  rules  as  the  literature  of  all 
other  nations,  and  that  they  possess  no  authority 
beyond  what  pertains  to  all  other  writings  of  men. 
I  hope  I  may  prove  further  that  this  time  has  not 
been  wasted,  by  persuading  some  that  it  is  useless 
to  study  the  Bible  in  the  hope  of  discovering  how 
the  world  was  made,  or  when  and  how  it  will  end  ; 
when  Jesus  will  return  to  earth  ;  how  the  ten  king- 
doms of  the  Roman  Empire  are  to  be  restored  in 
Europe  ;  who  is  to  be  the  antichrist ;  or,  if  it  be 
true  that  the  British  nation  represents  the  lost  ten 
tribes  of  Israel,  to  determine  whether  it  will  pos- 
sess Constantinople,  or  what  its  future  is  to  be. 
As  a  venerable  book,  the  best  thought  of  the 
ancients,  the  record  of  the  customs  and  characters 
of  men  of  other  days,  the  Bible  stands  peerless  in 
its  own  sphere,  and  will  always  be  prized.  It  is 
only  injured  and  degraded  by  the  effort  to  elevate 
it  to  a  sphere  where  it  has  no  place. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  mention  that  my  knowl- 
edge of  sceptical  objections  to  the  Bible  was  first 
gained  from  orthodox  commentaries,  for  I  never 
read  a  sceptical  work  until  long  after  my  doubts 
had  arisen.  In  searching  Lange's  Commentaries 
for  explanations  of  the  contradictions  and  obscuri- 


TRAVELS  IX  FAITIf. 


57 


ties  of  **  God's  Word,"  I  often  came  upon  refuta- 
tions of  the  German  critics,  and  sometimes  the 
superiority  of  their  opinions  was  stroni;ly  appar- 
ent to  me.  Attacks  upon  "  heresy "  thus  often 
help  to  spread  it;  for  they  make  known  its  nature, 
and,  as  "  truth  is  mighty  and  must  prevail,"  it  only 
needs  to  be  known  to  win  its  way.  All  criticism 
should  be  welcome  for  this  reason. 

The  inconsistencies  of  Christians,  myself  in- 
cluded, led  me  to  doubt  if  any  really  believ(!d  the 
doctrines  the)  professed.  Christ  taught  his  follow- 
ers not  to  lay  up  treasures  upon  earth,  to  sell  all 
they  had  and  give  to  the  poor.  He  said  the  rich 
should  hardly  enter  into  the  kingtlom  of  heaven. 
The  early  Christians  believeil  him,  and  had  all 
things  common  ;  and  Ananias  and  Sapphira  were 
killed  for  hypocrisy  in  the  matter.  Now,  Chris- 
tians are  foremost  in  the  struggle  for  riches.  They 
explain  away  the  meaning  Jesus  evidently  attach- 
ed to  his  words  and  the  literal  sense  in  which  his 
disciples  understood  them,  and  say  that  only  in- 
ordinate affection  for  money  is  condemned  ;  and 
no  Christian  millionaire  ever  believes  himself 
guilty  of  that  sin.  They  give  away  driblets  of  their 
incomes,  for  v/hich  they  receive  great  praise,  and 
hoard  up  and  increase  their  principal.  I  do  not 
say  it  is  wrong  to  do  this,  but  that  it  is  unchristian. 
An  old  bachelor,  an  elder  in  a  Presbyterian  church, 
who  had  been  lauded  for  his  benevolence,  lately 


[ 


58 


TKAVKLS  IN  FA/TII, 


died ;  and  his  estate  footed  ud  two  millions  of  dol- 
lars.  He  had  given  away  part  of  his  income 
yearly,  and  once  about  fifty  thousand  dollars  of 
his  principal  to  found  an  asylum  bearing  his  name. 
Jkit  in  what  sense  had  he  followed  Christ's  teach- 
ings ?  Many  excuse  themselves  in  the  race  for 
gold  by  saying  they  are  seeking  it  to  do  good  with, 
to  use  it  for  Christ ;  but  it  is  generally  used  first 
to  do  good  to  themselves,  and  supply  summer  and 
winter  palaces  and  carriages,  and  to  amass  a  cap- 
ital. 

Paul  directs  that  "women  adorn  themselves  in 
modest  apparel  wiJ.i  shamefastness  and  sobriety, 
not  with  briided  hair,  and  gold  or  pearls  or  costly 
raiment " ;  out  the  wife  and  daughters  of  the 
Christian  millionaire  enter  the  handsome  sanct- 
uary, which  has  succeeded  to  the  "upper  room" 
of  the  disciples,  wearing  glove-fitting  dresses  of 
expenj^Ive  fabric,  braided  hair  purchased  of  poor- 
er women,  barbaric  ear-rings  and  gold  bracelets, 
and  many  accessories  of  costly  raiment.  I  do  not 
say  tluit  this  is  wrong,  but  is  it  consistent  in  those 
who  believe  the  apostle's  words  to  be  divinely  in- 
spired? 

Christians,  as  a  rule,  do  not  give  to  those  that 
ask  of  them,  and  are  apt  to  turn  away  from  bor- 
rowers. They  do  not  turn  the  other  cheek  to  the 
smiter,  nor  refrain  from  going  to  law  with  breth- 
ren,— and  that  before  unbelievers;  and,  when  the 


TKAl'ELS  IN  FA  J  77/. 


59 


plaintiff  is  awarded  the  coat,  I  never  heard  that 
the  Christian  defendant  offered  his  **  cloke  "  also. 

The  love  of  enemies,  avoidance  of  public  prayer, 
concealed  alms,  no  anxiety  for  the  morrow,  are 
maxims  which  a  few  follow  in  intention,  but  which 
the  multitude  of  believers  wholly  disreij^ard. 

The  explanation  t^iven  is  tliat  these  thins^s  were 
good  for  the  time  when  they  were  prescribed  ;  but 
times  have  chani^ed,  and  the  spirit,  not  the  letter, 
is  to  be  observed.  If  the  spirit  is  truly  rcj^arded, 
this  is  a  satisfactory  answer,  provided  Jesus  and 
Paul  were  merely  reformers  of  their  own  aiL^e  ;  but, 
it  is  professed,  these  divinely  inspired  maxims  were 
ii^iven  by  the  Christ  of  (lod  and  the  Holy  Ghost 
through  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  for  all  time. 
If  so,  they  are  as  binding  to-day  as  when  they 
were  uttered.  The  Hible  becomes  iutelliLrible  and 
useful,  when  we  see  it  to  be  men's  best  thoughts 
for  the  good  of  the  times  they  lived  in  ;  but,  when 
it  is  made  out  to  be  God's  universal  prescription 
for  men  in  all  ages,  and  the  only  compendium  of 
infallible  truth,  it  is  as  hard  to  accept  it  as  such  as 
it  >vould  be  for  the  medical  profession  now  to  re- 
ceive the  works  of  the  surgeon  barbers  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  as  standards  for  the  regulation  of  their 
practice. 

Prof.  Huxley,  in  "  Lay  Sermons,"  gives  Descar- 
tes* golden  rule:  "Give  unqualified  assent  to  no 
propositions  but  those  the  truth  of  which  is  so 


or 


i 

:2 


00 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH, 


I   *■ 


clear  and  distinct  that  they  cannot  be  doubted," 
The  adoption  of  this  rule  will  overthrow  nearly  all 
doj^matic  theoloj^y,  and  it  will  likewise  deter  the 
inquirer  from  too  confident  an  assumption  of  the 
m(.Te  hypotheses  of  evohition  and  tlu;  science  of  the 
(lay.  The  main  conclusions  which  I  have  n^iched 
rest  upon  a  common-si-nse  interpretation  of  the 
facts  which  nature  ami  man  present  to  every  eye. 
Once  accept  the  idea  that  reli^^ion  is  the  record  of 
the  aspirations  of  the  human  mind  and  changes 
from  at;e  to  aj^e  and  day  to  day,  as  men's  capaci- 
ties and  natures  alter,  there  bt^iiiLT  no  infallible  rev- 
elation  from  God  of  one  true  reliij^ion,  and  it  will 
be  found  that  all  the  history  kA  human  thouj^ht  is 
intellii^nble.  Religion,  which  is  now  to  each  man 
the  blind  acceptance  of  ii. comprehensible  ideas,  be- 
comes a  simple  and  common-sense  affair.  Instead 
of  searching  the  Hible  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  or 
swallowing  whole  the  tlecisions  of  fathers,  councils, 
and  commentators,  or  surrendering  one's  mind  to 
the  control  of  tninisters  and  priests,  each  man  may 
learn  for  himself  from  the  book  of  nature  all  the 
grand  outlines  of  truth  that  are  necessary  to  be 
known  as  general  princi|,les ;  and  the  details  can 
be  learned  from  the  investigation  of  live  facts  by 
living  men,  instead  of  from  musty  researches  by 
scholars  among  the  obscure  and  doubtful  records 
made  by  erring  men  in  dead  languages,  in  dark 
ages. 


TRA  I' ELS  IN  I' A I  Til. 


6i 


Only  he  who  has  experienced  it  can  understand 
the  relief  that  comes  to  the  mind  of  one  who  for 
years  has  strui^gled  to  understand  "  the  Word  of 
God  "  and  its  complicated  theolo'^y  for  himself,  in- 
stead of  takini^  it  all  for  j^ranted  because  his  par- 
ents believed  it,  when  at  last  he  puts  it  in  its  rii^ht 
place,  as  records  of  past  thoui^ht,  and  comes  into 
the  freedom  and  li<rht  of  the  reliij^ion  of  nature  and 
humanity.  lie  then  learns  that  all  events  move  in 
the  channel  of  law,  that  these  laws  are  ever  tendinir 
in  their  ultimate  results  toward  the  develoj^ment 
of  good,  that  good  and  evil  teach  thc^ir  own  lessons 
and  alike  *'  work  together  for  good." 

The  origin  of  scepticism  in  my  mind  was  the  ob- 
servation of  the  differing  and  sometimes  opposing 
views  of  Christians,  who  were  studying  the  I5il)le 
prayerfully  under  the  guidance  of  the  1  loly  Spirit. 
To  avoid  the  fatal  conclusion  of  the  human  origin 
of  their  religion,  which  this  pn^mise  leads  to, 
Christians  are  accustomed  to  claim  that  the  differ- 
ences are  upon  "  non-essentials,"  and  that  upon  all 
vital  points  true  Christians  agree.  They  empha- 
size the  word  "  true,"  and  it  means  that  those  who 
think  as  they  do  are  the  only  Iruc  Christians. 
The  doctrines  of  the  atonement  and  the  deity  of 
Christ  they  admit  to  be  vital ;  but,  when  such 
godly,  prayerful  men  as  Channing  and  lizra  S. 
Gannet,  with  the  latter  of  whom  my  father  en- 
gaged in  controversy  upon  the.se  points,  find  them- 


6s 


TRAVELS  IN  FA  J  TIL 


selves  led  by  study  of  the  Scriptures  to  the  renun- 
ciation  of  these  dogmas,   they  assert  that   these 
praying  men  hav^  abandoned  the  teaching  of  the 
Spirit,  each  being  *'  vainly  puffed  up  by  his  fleshly 
mind."     As  the  Spirit's  influence  is  not  a  visible 
or  tangible  thing,  and  th(!rcfore  cannot  be  demon- 
strated, there  is  no  arguing  with  people  who  assert 
tiiat  all  people  who  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God 
believe  as  they  do,  and  all  who  differ  from  them 
have  forsaken  the  Spirit's  leading  for  "  the  vaga- 
ries  of   reason."     Wiien   an  orthodox   theoloirian 
like  Bushnell  nearly  apj)roaches  the  Unitarian  de- 
nial  of  the   vicarious  atonement,   it   furnishes  an 
opportunity    for   these    analyst    theologians,    with 
their  hair-turning  scales,  to  determine  how  many 
grains  of  ideas  are  the  product  of  the  Spirit  and 
how  many  are  from  **  the  fleshly  mind."      When 
one  praying  searcher  of  Scripture  fmds  s[)rinkling, 
another  immersion,  and  another  spiritual  influence 
to  be  baptism,  as  this  is  "  not  essential  to  salva- 
tion," Christians  excuse  Jesus  for  not  keeping  his 
promise,  "  When  he,  tlie  Spirit  of  Truth,  is  come, 
he  shall  guide  you  into  all  the  truth," — as  though 
any  real  truth  is  '*  unessential,"  or  any  error  not 
injurious.     One  finds  in  the  Bible  infant  baptism, 
another  believer's  baptism  ;  one  ordination,  anoth- 
er liberty  of  ministry  ;  one  a  post-millennial   ad- 
vent, another  a  pre-millennial  advent  (a  thousand 
years  is  of  small  account  in  theology);  one  trinity. 


THAriiLS  IN  I' Am  I. 


63 


another  unity  ;  one  a  personal  devil,  another  an 
evil  induence ;  one  election,  another  free  grace ; 
one  perseverance,  another  falling  frcMn  grace  ;  one 
progressive  sanctification,  another  instantaneous 
sanctification  ;  one  eternal  punishment,  another  an- 
nihilation, and  another  universal  restoration  ;  one 
an  intermediate  state  after  death,  another  an  im- 
mediate heaven  ;  and  so  on. 

All  these  views  are  confidently  proved  from  the 
words  of  the  Bible  by  each  divinely  illuminated 
student  ;  and  each  inspired  believer  through  the 
ages  has  denounced  or  cursed  or  murdered  the 
other  inspired  believer,  as  Calvin  caused  the  death 
of  Servetus  for  views  now  widely  held  by  good 
miin.  What  wars  and  atrocities  have  been  caused 
by  this  curious  method  of  the  Spirit  of  leading 
Jesus'  followers  into  all  truth!  (Read  "The 
Oimes  and  Cruelties  of  Christianity,"  by  W.  1\ 
Underwood.)  And  Christians  dare  tell  us  they  all 
agree  in  essentials  !  These  truths  may  not  be  es- 
sential to  the  salvation  of  the  soul ;  but,  in  the  past, 
they  have  been  very  necessary  to  the  existence  of 
the  body.  They  reduce  essentials  finally  to  one 
dogma,  salvation  by  Clirist  ;  and,  if  any  one  disbe- 
lieves that,  it  only  proves  he  has  refused  to  be 
guided  by  the  Spirit,  being  "vainly  puffed  up  by 
his  fleshly  mind."  Can  the  human  mind  cease  to 
be  hindered  in  its  advancement,  till  the  shackles  oi 


TKA  VELS  fN  FAITH. 


such  illogical,  arrogant,  and  uncharitable  assump- 
tiof'is  are  destroyed  ? 

I  am  told  it  is  disrespectful  to  my  father  to  dif- 
fer from  his  views,  and  filial  reverence  should  keep 
me  from  proclaiming  opposed  ideas.     What  prog- 
ress would   the  world   have   made,  if  this  notion 
had  always  prevailed  ?     Look  at  China's  progress 
in  knowledge.       Ancestral  worship   has    hindered 
advancement  there.     My  grandfather  was  a  worthy 
cabinet-maker  in  Salem.      He  decided  that  his  son 
should  be  educated  in  the   ideas  of  a  certain   theo- 
logical sect.      It  is  really  irreverence  to  my  grand- 
father that    I   am  guilty  of.      A   previous  grand- 
father i)robably  believed   in   hanging    the    Salem 
witches  ;  and  I  am  certainly  irreverent  to  that  one, 
and  am  not  ashamed  of  it.     One  comfort  is  that,  if 
our  deceased  friends  are  in  a  conscious  state,  they 
thoroughly  approve  of  any  progress  we  make  in 
truth  in  advance  of  their  notions.      It  would  be  a 
pity  to  find  we  had  been  grieving   ther.i,  because 
we   refused   to  accei)t  the  advance  in  knowledge 
since  their  day,  or  declined  to  use  the  electric  light 
because  they  read  by  tallow  candles  or  the  light  of 
the   fire,  as  my  father  did,  when  a  boy,  for  econ- 
omy's sake. 

Respect  for  my  father  requires  me  to  be  loyal  to 
the  truth  as  I  see  it.  He  never  Hinched  in  the 
maintenance  of  the  facts  that  hell  and  slavery  are 
Bible   doctrines.     They  are  taught  there,  and  he 


Th\l  VELS  IX  FAITH. 


6S 


w 


was  consistent.  The  leadiniif  Liberals  and  Aboli- 
tionists  gave  up  the  Bible,  and  then  opposed  hell 
and  slavery ;  and  they  were  consistent.  But  the 
mass  of  orthodox  clergymen  have  quietly  ignored 
hell  and  violently  attacked  slavery,  and  they  are 
inconsistent.  If  the  Bible  teaches  ideas  opposed 
to  reason  and  morals,  if  it  is  the  infallible  word  of 
Gorl,  we  must  be  unreasonable  and  immoral  ;  but 
all  difficulty  is  cleared  away,  when  we  see  that  not 
only  common  sense,  but  an  overwhelming  mass  of 
scientific  and  literary  criticism,  proves  the  Bible  to 
be  the  record  of  human  thouHit  about  God.  One 
who  sees  this  and  fears  to  raise  his  voice  aijainst  a 
superstition  which  he  beli^'ves  to  be  dishonoring  to 
God  and  injurious  to  man,  he  alone  is  false  to  the 
heritaore  of  an  honored  name. 

During  the  year  that  I  was  in  Boston,  I  endeav- 
ored to  keep,  my  opinions  to  niyself ;  for  I  desired 
not  to  give  offence,  and  wish(;d  to  verify  my  posi- 
tion. But  watchful  friends  discovered  that  I  had 
been  a  few  times  to  a  Unitarian  church,  that  I  read 
the  Boston  Sini(/ay  Ifcrald,  and  that  I  entertained 
some  doubts  about  the  accuracy  of  the  Mosaic 
story  of  creation.  These  dreadful  sins  brought 
upon  me  such  remonstrances  and  exhortations  that 
I  was  at  last  compelled  to  declare  my  true  position 
in  a  letter  to  my  friends,  which  I  afterward  de- 
cided to  publish  over  my  initials,  as  an  easy  way 
of  informing  acquaintances  of  my  change,  not  sup- 


ac 


06 


TKA  VELH  IN  FAITJf. 


\  ^' 


posing  it  would  attract  public  attention.  I  had  no 
desire  to  force  my  ideas  upon  them  ;  but,  for  my 
own  peace  of  mind,  it  became  necessary  for  me  to 
avow  myself.  I  constantly  met  people  who  treated 
me  with  j^reat  courtesy  on  account  of  my  reputa- 
tion as  a  Christian.  Some  of  these  were  friends 
of  my  father, — ministers  and  i^entlemen  whom  1 
hiti^hly  honor  and  esteem.  After  such  interviews, 
I  had  so  painful  a  sense  of  sailini^  under  false  col- 
ors tiiat  I  preferred  to  incur  what  would  seem  to 
me  undeserved  blame  rather  than  receive  what  I 
felt  to  be  unmerited  praise. 

rVom  the  forej^oins^  sketch  of  my  relii^ious  expe- 
riences, it  will  be  seen  that  my  course  was  first  to 
find  the  literal  teachin;;^  of  the  Bible  and  reject 
the  so[)histries  by  which  theoloL,nans  of  the  present 
day  try  to  make  its  teachini^  harmonize  with  mod- 
ern ideas.  I  saw  that,  treated  honestly,  the  Hible 
taut^ht  a  six  days*  creation,  the  fall  of  man,  a  uni- 
versal llood,  an  eternal  hell,  a  vicarious  atonement, 
and  the  future  return  of  Christ  to  the  earth.  But 
I  found  Christians  all  at  variance  about  these  doc- 
trines, unable  to  ai^ree  as  to  what  the  revelation  of 
God  really  revealed.  I  found  that  many  scholars 
doubted  the  j^enuineness  and  authenticity  of  the 
Gospels,  and  all  the  probabilities  seemed  to  me  to 
be  on  their  side.  The  Dutch  school  of  criticism 
gave  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  the  Bible  as  a 
compilation   of   Hebrew  literature.       Science,   hu- 


' 


TRA  I'ELS  AV  FAtTIf. 


67 


manity  and  reason  were  opposed  to  tradition  ;  and 
I  gave  up  tradition.  Honesty  and  sincerity  obliged 
me  to  withdraw  from  membership  in  the  Christian 
Church. 


VII. 


CON'CM'SION. 


\ 


A  TiiouGiiTrui.  friend  advised  me  not  to  pub- 
lish the  foregoing  statement  of  my  experience  in 
thought  until  three  years  had  elapsed,  to  allow 
time  for  consideration  and  possibly  for  modification 
of  views,  which  might  be  found  to  be  extreme,  a 
natural  reaction  from  an  intense  and  unnatural  piet- 
ism. I  felt  this  to  be  wise  and  prudent.  This 
time  has  nearly  passed,  but  reperusal  suggests  no 
alteration  ;  and  experience  and  rellection  confirm 
the  convictions  expressed. 

During  this  period,  a  great  many  letters  have 
come  to  me  ;  and  numbers  of  '"riends,  each  in  his 
own  estimation  led  by  the  Spirit  and  holding  the 
correct  views  of  religious  truth,  have  endeavored 
to  convince  me  of  error.  I  find,  however,  that 
they  all  differ  ;  and  to  adopt  the  degree  of  super- 
naturalism  which  any  one  holds  would  still  leave 
me  at  variance  with  the  majority.  I  have  been 
able  to  classify  my  correspondents  into  nine  class- 


^ 


68 


TRAVELS  JN  FAITH. 


es,  each  showing  an  upward  step  toward  rational- 
ism, and  the  whole  forming  an  admirable  demon- 
stration of  my  assertions  as  to  the  human  origin  of 
religion.  Each  follows  knowledge  as  far  as  his 
environment  will  allow,  and  then  holds  to  "  faith." 
Each  minister,  in  the  light  of  modern  science, 
walks  up  to  his  denominational  fence,  and  there 
stops  ;  but  the  Congrcgationalist  goes  beyond  the 
Plymouth  Brother,  the  Ej)iscopalian  distances  the 
Cont^rei^ationalist,  and  the  Unitarian  ventures  still 
nearer  to  rationalism.  For  any  one  to  go  further 
would  subject  him  to  trouble  ;  and  the  impression 
made  upon  my  own  mind  is  that  their  progress  is 
deterred  by  the  unconscious  influence  of  self-inter- 
est, and  they  demonstrate  the  fact  that  ultimate 
truth  lies  in  the  direction  toward  which  each  has 
advanced, — that  is,  in  lYafiu'ii/isiii.  The  person 
nearest  to  agreement  with  me  is  the  most  travelled 
of  all,  the  one  next  to  him  is  the  most  scientific, 
and  next  to  him  comes  the  most  scholarly  ;  then 
come  the  business  men  ;  then  orthodox  ministers  ; 
and  the  farthest  off  from  me  and  the  nearest  to 
supernaturalism  are  emotional  ladies  and  men  who 
believe  in  the  verbal  inspiration  and  literal  mean- 
ing of  the  Hible,  and  who  seldom  read  anything 
else. 

This  gradation  of  opinion,  and  the  capacities 
and  circumstances  of  its  exponents,  strongly  con- 
vince me  that  my  future  path  trends  forward,  and 


1^ 


\ 


\[ 


1 


*! 


TKAl'K/.S  AV  tAlTIf. 


69 


not  backward.  In  the  rational  study  of  nature  lie 
the  secrets  of  knowledi^e,  and  (!very  admission  of 
the  existence  of  supernatural  inlluences  is  a  l)arrier 
to  j)rojj^ress. 

A  Christian  asked  nie,  *'  What  have  you  to  live 
for  now?"  His  tone  implied  that  the  loss  of  a  be- 
lief in  hell  removed  all  impetus  to  benevolence  and 
philanthropy.  I  replied  :  "  A  thousand-fold  more 
than  ever.  To  benefit  men  here  and  now,  to  pro- 
mote commerce,  to  advance  society,  to  inlluencc 
the  future  of  the  race.  The  world  has  opened  out 
before  me  full  of  possibility  and  hop(!,  temptinj^ 
me  to  effort  by  its  opportunities  and  afford ini^  joy 
ir»  its  prospects.  All  this  is  trained  in  exchant^e 
for  distressinijf  efforts  to  save  a  few  men,  throuLih 
emotional  experiences,  from  an  imaij^ined  impend- 
ing doom,  in  the  face  of  which  all  attempts  at 
worldly  improvement  would  be  a  hopeless  and 
heartless  mockery."  It  is  the  consistent  Christian 
who  has  nothintjj  to  live  for.  Death  or  the  cominiLj' 
of  the  Lord  is  his  only  hojic!.  To  depart  and  be 
with  Jesus  is  his  desired  destiny.  The  more  sin- 
cere a  Christian  a  man  is,  the  less  has  he  to  live 
for  in  this  world  ;  and  the  reason  that  Christianity 
docs  so  little  harm  is  because  it  is  so  little  believed. 
The  Dark  Ages  were  the  ages  of  "  faith."  The 
religion  of  nature  is  what  most  men  practise,  and 
they  only  espouse  Christianity  when  it  is  attacked. 
Practically,  but  few  believe  its  dogmas  ;  and,  when 


Si-i 


70 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITIf. 


men  are  no  longer  paid  to  preach  them  and  self- 
interest  does  not  enforce  conformity,  they  will  be 
abandoned  in  name,  as  they  are  already,  to  a  great 
extent,  in  fact. 

Men  have  become  accustomed  to  think  that 
Christianity  means  goodness,  whereas  all  that  we 
prize  as  good  existed  and  was  recognized  in  the 
world  long  before  Jesus  was  born.  Orthodox 
Christianity  means  the  theory  that  men  are  all 
doomed  to  eternal  torment,  and  can  only  escape 
by  belief  in  the  merits  of  the  death  of  a  man-god. 
This  creed  is  fast  beinij  rele<rated  to  the  domain 
of  cast-off  superstitions,  which  have  had  their  day 
and  done  their  work  in  the  development  of  those 
who  created  them.  He  who  leaves  it  does  not 
leave  faith  behind  ;  but  he  travels  in  faith  to  a  be- 
lief in  the  inviolable  order  of  nature,  the  sequence 
of  cause  and  effect,  the  reign  of  law,  the  upward 
destiny  of  the  human  race, — to  faith  in  good. 


A  RADICAL  AVOWAL. 


A    LETTKK    TO    OKTIIODOX     KKIKNDS. 

You  have  remarked  upon  evidences  that  I  was 
chan<;ing  in  my  religious  belief;  and  I  have  avoided 
speakin<^  about  it,  because  I  shrank  from  t;ivin<^ 
you  pain.  But  1  feel  it  is  best,  once  for  all,  to  tell 
you  frankly  where  I  stand,  so  that  there  need  be 
no  misunderstandinix  between  us. 

You  know  that  ever  since  1  be^an  to  travel  ex- 
tensivcly,  and  visit  foreii^n  lands  all  around  the 
world,  I  have  em[)l()yed  nearly  all  my  spare  time 
in  Biblical  and  theolosj^ical  studies,  beint;  letl  to  this 
by  observation  of  the  varied  inter|)retation  of  Scrii)t- 
ure.  In  time,  I  adopted  the  Plymouth  Brethren's 
system  of  lilcral  interpretation,  believinj^  that,  if 
Ciod  gave  a  revelation  to  man,  it  must  be  one  that 
each  man  could  understand  for  himself,  without  the 
intervention  of  any  ecclesiastical  or  other  human 
authority.  I  believed,  therefore,  that  "  God's  word  " 
meant  what  it  said,  and  was  not  to  be  ingeniously 
twisted,  its  surface  meanings  ignored,  and  promises 
to  the  Jews  "spiritualized"  into  prophecies  of  the 
Christian  Church.  I  found  that  Christ  promised 
his  disciples  that  the  Spirit  should  lead  them  "  into 


:3 

3 


72 


TKA  VELH  JN  FAJTH. 


1 


all  truth  "  ;  and  it  followed,  from  Protestant  inter- 
pretation, that  the  prayerful  student  of  the  Bible, 
in  whom,  accordin*^  to  our  theory,  the  Holy  Spirit 
dwells,  must  learn  the  Bible's  true  teachinji^.  In- 
tercourse with  numerous  Christians,  many  of  whom 
I  was  convinced  [)rayed  earnestly  for  thc!  j^uidance 
.  of  the  Spirit,  showed  me  that  the  Holy  Spirit  led 
each  man  to  different  and  often  opposintj  views : 
thou<rh  one  devout  and  hii^hly  educated  Cliristian 
assured  me  that  no  one  ever  studied  the  liiblc 
prayerfully  without  believini^as  he  did,  but  I  found 
that  his  present  adherents  numbered  only  two. 
The  theory  that  these  different  views  were  like  the 
varied  aspects  of  amountiiin  from  numerous  points 
did  not  satisfy  me,  for  a  mountain  never  looks  like 
a  valley  ;  and  I  bei^an  to  doubt  if  it  was  possible 
that  an  omniscient  God  would  t^ive  a  revelation  to 
man  that  would  set  all  the  world  **  by  the  ears"  in 
their  efforts  to  interpret  it.  The  only  solution  to 
my  mini!  was  that  each  man's  belief  is  determined 
by  his  own  orj^anization  and  surroundinj^^s.  All 
religions  art?  of  human  orii;in,  Christianity  not  e\- 
ceptttd. 

Accpiaintance  with  many  lands,  and  conversation 
with  "many  men  of  many  mintls."  showed  me  that, 
in  all  civilized  or  semi-civilized  countries,  there  is  a 
prevalent  recoj^nition  of  the  threat  trutlis  of  moral- 
ity, while  ideas  of  religion  vary.  I  saw  less  wick- 
edness on  the  heathen  shores  of  China,  India,  Javti, 


I 


A  /^APICAI.  AVOn'AL. 


n 


t 


I 


I 


' 


and  Sumatra  than  on  the  Christian  wharves  of  New 
York  and  Boston  or  around  the  docks  of  London 
and  Liverpool.  Morality,  therefore,  is  independent 
of  relij^ion,  beini;  the  result  of  universal  experience 
of  the  best  methods  of  living;. 

But  my  early  traininj^ and  surroundini^  inlliicjnces 
led  me  to  suppress  tlu^se  convictions;  and,  for  sev- 
eral years,  I  foui^ht  ai^ainst  my  reason,  restricted 
myself  entirely  to  evaui^elical  reailini;,  and  resolved 
not  to  doubt.  At  intervals,  scepiicisiu  would  re- 
vive, but  by  tramplini^^  on  m\'  iiileliect,  [)hm<^injL,^ 
intorelij^ious  work,  and  trying  to  accept  the  doL;ina 
that,  as  the  finite  cannot  coniprehcml  iIk;  infinite, 
the  unintellis^ibility  of  a  doctrine  was  a  proof  of 
its  divinity,  in  this  way  I  manai^ed  to  pn^serve  my 
faith.  A  visit  to  lini^land  .md  Germany  rather 
unsettled  me,  until  I  buried  myself  aj^Min  in  "  the 
faith  of  my  fathers,"  and  refus(!(.I  to  acknowledi^^e 
my  own  independence  and  ri-^ht  to  think  for  my- 
self, because  the  fathers  and  many  livin<^  threat 
men  heUl  and  hold  this  faith,  b'inally,  three  years 
of  travel,  talk,  aiid  .eadinj^  entirely  emancipated 
my  mind  from  the  sway  of  the  current  Christian 
theology. 

I  believe  that  all  thinj^s  are  subject  to  law,  fron\ 
the  raindrop  to  the  loftiest  conception  cf  the  human 
brain.  There  is  no  supernatural  mterfeicace.  All 
will  be  accounted  for  as  knowledge  increases,  and 
the  reason  why  everything  exists  or  acts  will  be 


-B 


BE 


74 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


t 


r 
\ 


shown.  Therefore,  as  there  are  no  miracles^  there 
need  be  no  prayer. 

The  study  of  the  Diblii,  and  comparing  it  with 
the  sacred  writings  of  other  nations,  convinces  nic 
that  the  Bible  is  a  human  compilation  of  the  tradi- 
tions, poetry,  history,  and  reiii^ious  ideas  of  the 
Jews  in  earlier  and  darker  at;es  than  ihe  present. 
It  is  "  God's  \y\i^i\  "  only  in  tiie  sense  that  what  is 
j^ood  in  all  written,  spoken,  or  secret  thought  may 
be  called  (i oil's  word.  Its  atrocities,  indecencies, 
and  incomprehensible  dogmas  are  of  the  earth.  I 
reject  the  orthodox  doctrine  of  inspiration  entirely. 

The  doctrines  of  evolution,  in  their  main  out- 
lines, are  now  receivetl  by  nearly  all  learned  men, 
wbetluM*  Christians  or  sceptics.  The  Ih'ble  says 
the  world  was  made  in  six  days  by  magic,  man  was 
perfect  Imt  sinned,  Christ  died  to  save  a  few,  and 
soon  Cod  will  destroy  the  world  and  punish  the 
vast  majority  of  men  forever  in  lu*ll.  Itivolution 
says  the  worKl  is  the  protluct  of  a  gradual  develop- 
ment of  matter,  progressing  through  millions  of 
years  ;  man  has  arisen  from  lower  animals,  and  they 
fron»  inferior  orders  of  animal  and  vegetable  life 
down  to  the  simplest  atom.  Analogy  teaches  that 
man  will  continue  to  rise,  anil,  through  the  opera- 
tion of  the  same  laws,  attain  to  a  far  higher,  if  not 
perfect  development ;  for  there  must  always  be  pro- 
gress upward.  So  I  have  changed  from  a  pessi- 
mist to  an  optimist ;  and.  instead  of  ignoring  this 


I  I 


A  RADICAL  AlOWAI.. 


/3 


sin-cursed  world  doomed  to  destruction,  I  accept  it 
as  "the  best  worKl  i^oinij^,"  and  one  capable  of  im- 
provement, it  beini;  my  i^reat  aim  so  to  advance  my 
own  nature  and  that  of  others  that  the  world  may 
be  better  for  my  life.  Not  the  salvation  of  men's 
souls  from  hell,  but  the  elevation  of  their  hearts 
and  minds,  and  the  l)etterin<^  of  their  social  condi- 
tion, is  now  my  desire. 

As  to  immortality,  nothinij;  is  revealed  to  me, 
though  many  analoi^ies  encourai^e  hope  in  a  future 
existence.  If  there  is  no  other  life,  we  shall  never 
know  our  loss  in  our  tlreandess  sleep  ;  and,  if  then? 
is  a  future  state,  if  we  have  lived  well  for  this  life, 
we  shall  l)e  best  fitted  for  another.  ()n(!  world  at 
A  time  is  enough  ;  and,  when  another  comes,  it  will 
di*jn  be  time  to  take  an  interest  in  it. 

I  see  no  proof  of  a  p(M*sonal  (iod,  who  sits  uj) 
aloft  and  makes  butterllies,  counts  hairs,  and  con- 
jures up  squalls  to  upset  the  boats  of  Sabbath- 
breakers  ;  but  I  see  an  ever-active,  unerring  forci; 
in  nature,  workinj^  in  the  main  for  i^ood,  thouj^di 
painfully  and  mysteriously  to  "the  creatures  of  a 
day." 

The  result  to  myself  is  that  I  am  ritl  of  ilie  aw- 
ful depression  andj^loom  of  the  doctrine  of  hell,  the 
nagging  of  conscience  to  pry  into  men's  minds  and 
know  if  they  are  "saved,"  the  perplexing  defence 
of  the  Hebrew  Deity  who  ordered  slaughter  and 
rapine,  the  contempt  of  this  life,  and  the  IMiarisaic 


i»» 


f 


76 


TKAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


conceit  of  the  "  elect."  I  now  want  to  live,  to  en- 
joy what  nature,  art,  and  civilization  supply,  but 
all  to  tliC  end  of  advancing  humanity  to  a  higher 
plane  of  virtue,  knowledge,  and  happiness.  I  have 
lost  nothing  in  motives  to  be  good  and  do  good, 
but  have  gained  in  freedom,  hope,  and  gladness. 


c 


I 

ft 


li 


GAIN  OR  LOSS? 


The  Cougrcgatioualist  of  November  30,  1881, 
under  the  above  title,  replied  to  "A  Radical 
Avowal,"  published  in  the  Index  of  November 
10.  It  appeared  to  me  easy  to  i;ive  satisfactory 
answers  to  the  criticisms  ;  but,  havini^  no  desire 
for  controversy,  especially  with  so  respected  an 
old  friend,  I  decided  not  to  reply. 

Numerous  letters,  some  of  them  anonymous 
and  not  a  few  abusive,  show  that  the  readers  of 
the  Coiigrcgah'ona/isf  consider  that  my  positions 
have  been  utterly  overthrown  ;  and  some  of  these 
dear,  good  people  allow  me  only  the  alternative  of 
demonism  or  an  unbalanced  mind  as  explanations 
for  my  opinions.  Therefore,  I  feel  it  a  duty,  to 
myself  at  least,  to  see  if  I  can  "  give  a  reason  for 
the  (unbelief)  that  is  in  me." 

After  stating  my  position  as  fairly  as  a  brief  ab- 
stract of  my  v.'ords  would  permit,  the  Congrroti- 
iwna/isf  ^:iy^  it  is  '•characterized,  in  nearly  equal 
degree,  by  inconsistency,  unfair  statement,  and 
hasty  inference."  The  first  inconsistency  is  the 
denial  of  a  personal  God,  and  yet  saying  "  all 
things  are  subject  to  law "  ;  for  the  editor  says, 
"  if  there  be  law,  the  very  conception  necessarily 
implies  a  lawgiver."     My  words  were,  "  I  sec  no 


:3 

ii 


>8 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


< 


1 
1^ 


c 

\ 


proof  of  a  personal  God,  who  sits  up  aloft  and 
makes  butterllies,  counts  hairs,  and  conjures  up 
squalls  to  upset  the  boats  of  Sabbath-breakers." 
This  is  the  kind  of  God  I  was  *'  brought  up  on,"  a 
being  who  consciously  superintends  the  formation 
of  every  insect,  who  notes  and  inlluences  all  the 
details  of  each  human  life,  and  who  takes  ven- 
geances on  sinners  through  "special  providences." 
Many  still  believe  in  such  a  God,  and  draw  the  be- 
lief from  the  Bible.  As  opposed  to  this  idea  of  a 
supreme  being,  I  say,  *'  I  see  an  ever-active,  un- 
erriiii*  force  in  nature,"  and  "all  thini^s  are  sub- 
ject  to  law."  "There  is  no  supernatural  interfer- 
ence." Many  intelligent  religious  teachers  call 
the  force,  which  works  in  an  orderly  method 
throughout  nature,  God.  They  personify  the 
principle  of  action  which  i)ervades  existence  ;  but 
this  personal  God  is  a  great  first  cause,  who  en- 
dowed matter  with  the  i)resence  of  force  and  the 
principle  of  development,  by  which  all  events 
spring  from  i)receding  causes,  and  who  only  acts 
through  the  successions  of  cause  and  effect,  never 
exercising  his  will  in  an  arbitrary  way.  My  only 
purpose  was  to  deny  the  existence  of  such  a  being 
as  the  Hebrew  Jehovah  or  Calvin's  God,  who 
walked  and  talked  with  men,  who  destroyed  them 
purposely  with  llood  and  fire  and  earthquake  and 
plague,  who  turned  a  woman  into  salt,  made  an 
ass  speak,  killetl  fifty  thousand  and  seventy  men 


6V//A'  OK  LOSS.f 


79 


ii 


h 


for  looking  Into  the  ark,  stopped  the  sun  and  moon 
in  the  heavens  that  a  "  liebrew  6Hbuster  "  might 
slaughter  the  Canaanites,  saved  a  drowning  |)roph- 
et  in  a  whale's  belly,  ami  who  makes  eternal  de- 
crees for  the  salvation  of  some,  and  allows  others 
to  inhabit  an  eternal  hell. 

What  "God"  is  1  am  not  wise  enough  to  say. 
I  am  only  sure  he  is  not  what  the  Hebrew  writers 
imagined  him  to  be.  Hut,  even  had  I  denied  the 
existence  of  any  principle  which  can  be  calK*d  God, 
it  is  not  inconsistent  to  speak  of  law.  Webster 
L^ives  nine  definitions  of  /<ru\  The  third  is  : 
"(Nature.)  The  regular  method  or  se([uence  by 
which  certain  phenomena  or  effects  follow  certain 
conditions  or  causes,  as  the  /du'  of  gravitation,  a 
geological  law,  the  laws  of  physical  descent,  of 
trade,  etc.  ;  the  uniform  methods  or  relations  ac- 
cordinijf  to  which  material  ami  mental  forces  act  in 
producing  effects,  or  are  manifesteil  in  i)henomena  ; 
a  norm  or  rule  for  the  working  of  a  force:  hence, 
any  force,  tendency,  profession,  or  instinct,  wheth- 
er natural  or  acquired  ;  as,  the  law  of  self-preser- 
vation, etc." 

If  /(iw  may  be  defmed  as  "a  rule  for  the  work- 
ing of  a  force,"  or  the  regular  method  of  cause 
and  effect,  a  materialist,  who  believes  in  no  e.xist- 
ence  save  that  of  eternal  matter,  may  as  consist- 
ently speak  of  the  laws  of  the  universe  as  may  a 
Christian  theist.     This  play  upon  words  is  a  stock 


8o 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITlf. 


c 


c 


V 


argument  with  theologians,  but  an  honest  consid- 
eration of  the  customary  use  of  language  shows  it 
is  a  mere  verbal  quibble. 

I  claim,  therefore,  that,  though  I  deny  a  per- 
sonal God,  who  now  consciously  acts,  creates,  and 
repeats  Bible  wonders,  I  may  consistently  person- 
ify the  force  of  evolution  as  God,  and  have  an  in- 
finitely superior  being  to  worship  than  the  one 
described  by  Jewish  and  Christian  poets,  histo- 
rians, and  philosophers.  Or,  if  I  profess  to  be- 
lieve in  the  etornity  of  matter,  and  that  it  is  self- 
acting,  I  may  consistently  speak  of  the  regular 
method  of  its  working  as  laio. 

My  second  inconsistency  is  rejecting  *'  the  the- 
orem that  the  Bible  is  a  revelation  to  man,  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  inconceivable  that  any  such  thing 
can  be  true  as  to  whose  interpretation  there  is 
radical  difference,"  forgetting  that  men  differ 
about  •'  philosophy,  politics,  medicine,  and  the 
like";  antl  it  is  asked,  "Will  he  therefore  affirm 
there  is  nothini^  which  men  can  trust?" 

I  reply,  There  is  nothing  that  men  can  trust,  as 
an  infallible  revelation  from  God,  about  either  re- 
ligion, "philosophy,  politics,  medicine,  and  the 
like."  When  (lod  reveals  philosophy,  idealists  and 
materialists  will  agree  ;  when  he  reveals  politics, 
monarchists  and  republicans,  free-traders  and  pro- 
tectionists, will  cease  to  quarrel ;  when  he  reveals 
medicine,  allopathists,  homceopathists,  rubbing  and 


''I 


\  J 


GA/X  OK  LOSS/ 


6i 


:  f 


I 


;. 


I  •( 


electric  doctors  will  adopt  an  harmonious  system 
of  treatment :  and,  when  he  reveals  reliirion,  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty  sects  of   Protestants,  the 
Roman  and  Greek  Churches,  Mohammedans  and 
Buddhists,  will  cease  to  revile  each  other,  and  will 
unite    upon    one  theoloij^y.     The   illustration    the 
Coiin^t'Ci^atiouaUst  L,^ives  to  prove  my  inconsistency 
is  all  the  evidence  I  ask  to  demonstrate  the  human 
oriji^in  of  relij^ion.     Men  admit  that  all  hnowledjnre 
of  "  philosophy,  politics,  medicine,  and  the  like," 
has  been  slowly  trained  by  the  experience  of  man 
and  his  own  toilsome  efforts,  unaided  by  any  su- 
pernatural power;  but  they  say  relii^ion  has  been 
revealed  to  man  direct  from  a  perfect  omniscient 
God.     We  find,  however,  that  men   are   no  more 
aiifrced    about    relii^ion  which    has    been    revealed 
than  about  science  which  has  not  been   revealed. 
Of  what  advantai^e,  tiien,  is  revelation  ?     And  is  it 
not  deroi^atory  to  CJod  to  suppose  he  could  reveal 
what  men  cannot  understand  ?     The  fact  that  men 
differ  about  reli<;ion,  j)hil<)sophy,  politics,  and  med- 
icine, proves  that  God  has  never  i^iven  direct  posi- 
tive i.istruction  upon  these  subjects.     I  cannot  re- 
tort  that  the   Cout^reiyatioualist  is  "  inconsistent," 
for  such  reasoning  is  consistent  with  the  style  of 
many  of  its  ari^amients ;  but  I  may  say  it  is  illoqr- 
ical,  when  it  maintains  that  the  fact  that  men  dif- 
fer about  unrevealed  science  is  a  reason  why  they 
m&y  differ  about  revealed  religion,  for  I  assert  that 


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a  revelation  from  an  infinite  God  would  compel 
the  united  assent  of  human  minds.  It  seems,  to 
my  mind,  to  prove  that  rcli^jion  rests  on  just  the 
same  authority  as  science, — namely,  human  expe- 
rience and  research  ;  and  God  has  never  spoken 
about  religion  in  any  way  that  he  may  not  be  said 
to  have  talked  politics  or  given  medical  lectures. 
"The  Lord  spake  unto"  Solon  and  Galen  as  truly 
as  unto  Moses.  When  men  reco'nii..je  the  truth 
that  religious  ideas  have  no  higher  authority  than 
medical  ideas  possess,  they  will  become  as  charita- 
ble about  theological  differences  as  they  now  are 
about  varying  medical  theories.  Will  it  not  be  a 
social  improvement? 

The  next  charije  is,  "  lie  seems  to  us  unfair  in 
statement,  whenever  he  undertakes  to  describe  what 
is  Orthodox."  My  words  are  quoted,  "The  Bible 
says  the  world  was  made  in  six  days  by  magic  ;  * 
man  was  perfect,  but  sinned  ;  Christ  died  to  save 
a  few  ;  and  soon  God  will  destroy  the  world,  and 
punish  the  vast  majority  of  men  forever  in  hell." 
The  editor  then  remarks,  **  We  ha\  e  studied  the 
IJible  for  years  with  earnest  care,  but  we  have 
never  found  either  of  these  statements  in  it  ;  and, 
with  a  considerable  accpiaintance  with  Orthodox  . 
men,  we  know  of  none  who  would  be  willing-  to 
accept  either  as  true." 

This  denial  that  the  Hible  teaches  what  I  affirm 
it  does,  to  use  a  sea  phrase,  struck  me  flat  aback. 


6V/A\'  OK  LOSS.' 


83 


i. 


If 


Can  it  bo  that  for  thirty  years  I  studied  the  Bible, 
and  unde»'stood  it  to  teach  thinors  which  nobody 
else  finds  there?  If  so,  only  one  verdict  can  be 
given  against  my  intelligence.  But,  if  even  a  few 
men  of  good  judgment  and  fair  education  have 
interpreted  the  Bible  as  I  have,  then  it  is  the  mar- 
vel of  marvels  that  God  should  write  a  book  (ex- 
pressly to  give  information  on  certain  subjects,  and, 
when  some  intelliirent  men  decided  what  it  tauirht, 
Others  equally  intelligent  should  say  it  teaches  no 
such  thintr.  A  »xovernor  of  Massachusetts  who 
should  issue  so  obscure  a  proclamation  would  be 
elected  to  stay  at  home. 

Fortunately  for  my  self-assurance,  I  know  many 
men  whom  the  Cous^rci^aliona/ist  would  pronounce 
orthodox  and  intelliirent,  who  have  found  all  these 
statements  in  the  Bible.  But  let  the  book  speak 
for  itself.  In  Genesis,  first  chapter,  wv.  read  that 
God  created  the  present  form  of  the  world,  its  land, 
seas,  vegetable  and  animal  life,  sun,  moon,  and 
stars,  and  man,  in  six  days  of  evenings  and  morn- 
ings. In  Exodus  XX.,  II,  we  read.  **Vov  in  six 
days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the  sea 
and  all  that  in  them  is." 

Within  a  late  period,  learned  men  have  discov- 
ered that  the  world  was  not  made  all  at  once  in 
this  complete  condition,  but  through  vast  ages  it 
has  gradually  been  assuming  its  present  forms  and 
life.      Theologians,  therefore,  tell  us  these  days, 


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yi?^  J'iFZ^  /A'  FAITH. 


each  of  which  Scripture  says  was  an  evening  and  a 
morning,  were  really  long  periods.  If  the  Bible  is 
God's  word,  I  prefer  to  take  God's  statement,  as 
my  Orthodox  and  not  unlearned  father  did,  who 
once  said  to  me  substantially:  **This  day-period 
theory  is  not  consistent  with  a  common-sense  treat- 
ment of  the  Bible  language.  I  prefer  to  hold  to 
the  plain  words  of  God  that  he  made  the  world  in 
six  days ;  and,  though  I  cannot  reconcile  it  with 
what  are  called  geological  facts,  I  believe  some  day 
science  will  come  back  to  Moses."  I  have  at  hand 
literature  showing  that  scholarly  men  hold  in  the 
same  way  to  the  literal  day  theory,  and  it  will  not 
be  denied  that  the  Church  in  all  ages  before  the 
nineteenth  century  has  followed  this  teaching.  If 
God's  people  of  to-day  do  not  find  it,  they  must 
admit  that  God  allowed  his  church  for  many  cent- 
uries to  be  deceived  by  false  words  of  his, — a  libel 
upon  perfection. 

God  made  the  world  by  magic  ;  that  is,  by  '*  oc- 
cult and  superhuman  agency."  He  made  it  "  out 
of  nothing"  and  said,  "  Let  there  be,"  and  "there 
was." 

We  have  found  my  first  statement  in  the  Bible 
as  an  avera<re*  man  would  understand  it.  Now  for 
the  second,  "Man  was  perfect,  but  sinned."  In 
Genesis  i.,  27,  it  says,  "  So  God  created  man  in 
his  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God  created  he 
him."     I  used  to  believe  that  this  meant  that  man 


I 


M 


i 


1< 


i  '•  i 


II 


G^/A'  OK  LOSS  / 


»S 


was  perfect ;  but,  since  I  have  seen  the  imperfec- 
tion of  the  Old  Testament  representations  of  Je- 
hovah, I  cannot  so  regard  it,  though  I  think  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  writer  to  give  the  impression 
that  man  was  inade  perfect.  If  the  Cougrcgaiioii' 
alist  will  admit  that  the  Hebrew  God  was  imper- 
fect, I  must  confess  that  his  image  will  be  faulty. 
As  man's  sin  is  spoken  of  on  nearly  every  page  of 
the  Bible,  I  need  not  say  this  can  be  found  there. 

"  Christ  died  to  save  a  few.*'  Now,  I  am  in  dan- 
ger from  theology.  Men  have  battled  for  centu- 
ries as  to  whether  Christ's  atonement  was  limited 
or  infinite  ;  and  the*  factions  have  made  a  kind  of 
compromise,  saying  it  is  inllnite  in  design,  but  lim- 
ited in  extent.  Christ  died  for  all,  but  only  a  part 
are  saved.  It  is  the  practical  effect  of  Christ's  death 
that  I  refer  to ;  and  he  said,  *•  Narrow  is  the  way 
which  leadeth  unto  life,  and  few  there  be  that  find 
it."  "  He  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned,"  and 
very  few  believe.  Principal  Dawson  says  of  nom- 
inal Christians  that  God  would  call  only  two  per 
cent.  Christians.  When  one  asked  Christ,  "  Are 
there  few  that  be  saved  ?"  he  replied,  "  Many  will 
seek  to  enter  in,  and  shall  not  be  able."  He  said, 
"  Except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Certainly,  but  few  are  born 
again  in  the  Orthodox  sense.  How  then  can  Or- 
thodoxy deny  that  but  few  will  be  saved?  The 
good  taste  and  intelligence  of  this  age  are  limiting 


K 


n 


5; 


5' 

C; 


C 


c, 


»6 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


hell  and  expand! njr  heaven ;  but  the  fact  remains 
that  the  Church  until  recent  years  has  found  in  the 
Bible  the  teaching  that  "God  will  punish  the  vast 
majority  of  men  forever  in  hell." 

"  God  will  soon  destroy  the  world."  The  Con- 
or egatiotia  list  and  the  post-mil lenarians  say  this 
cannot  happen  for  a  thousand  years  ;  but  the  pre- 
millenarians,  among  whom  are  such  able  Orthodox 
ministers  as  A.  J.  Gordon,  H.  M.  Parsons,  and 
Brooks  of  St.  Louis,  not  to  mention  D.  L.  Moody 
and  the  numerous  evangelists  of  this  school,  believe 
the  first  stage  of  this  destruction  may  be  ushered 
in  at  any  moment  by  the  appearance  of  Christ, 
**  takini;  vencreance  on  them  that  know  not  God." 
Multitudes  of  Christians  are  lookinir  for  the  comintr 
of  the  Lord  and  "  the  end  of  the  world  "  in  its  pres- 
ent condition.  They  see  that  the  disciples  were 
taught  l)y  Ciirist  to  expect  this  in  their  own  day, 
and  that  all  the  teachino^  of  the  New  Testament 
shows  that  this  '*  hope"  inspired  its  writers. 

Perhaps  the  Coni^rcoationalist  meant  this  denial 
for  a  joke.  I  can  hardly  believe  it  to  be  serious, 
though  a  joke  would  be  so  incongruous  with  its 
usual  staid  demeanor  in  theological  discussions. 
But  the  second  part  of  its  assertion  I  am  prepared 
to  admit, — *'  With  a  considerable  acquaintance  with 
Orthodox  men,  we  know  of  none  who  would  be 
willing  to  accept  either  |of  these  statements]  as 
true."     Men  are  becoming  too  intelligent  to  accept 


MS 

'  i 


II ; 


GA/A  OK  LOSS.' 


^7 


these  doctrines  as  true  ;  but  there  tlicy  stand  in  the 
Bible,  and  milh'ons  of  readers  in  the  past  Jiavc  be- 
lieved them,  and  many  do  still.  After  hearinj^  a 
number  of  ministers  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bos- 
ton, I  once  wrote  to  the  Coiicrcoii^ioinilti!^,  askintr 
•*ls  Christ  preached?"  1  stateil  that  I  heard  no 
allusion  to  man's  sinfulness  and  need  of  a  Saviour. 
The  old-fashioned  gospel  of  sin,  hell,  and  atone- 
ment, as  I  had  been  instructed  to  read  it  in  the 
Bible,  which  I  still  find  there  and  which  my  father 
and  brother  faithfully  preached,  I  have  found  to  be 
tacitly  ignored  in  the  Congregational  pulpits  of  cul- 
tured societies.  Ministers  have  ceased  to  believe 
it,  or  even  to  find  it  in  the  Bible,  by  the  exercise 
of  ingenious  methods  of  criticism  especially  de- 
signed to  bring  God's  truth  "up  to  the  times." 
They  are  right  to  ignore  these  false  notit)ns  ;  but, 
when  they  consistently  explain  their  reasons  for 
doing  so,  they  arc  usually  dismissed  from  their  pul- 
]iits.  I  know  whereof  I  speak  when  I  say  there  are 
Conirre^ational  ministers  of  hisj^h  standinij  who  are 
thorough  disciples  of  the  evolution  philosophy,  who 
have  lost  every  atom  of  belief  in  the  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures  according  to  the  definitions  of  creeds, 
who  read  the  Old  Testament  with  only  the  same 
credence  that  they  give  to  Herodotus  and  Jose- 
phus  and  Eusebius,  and  yet  by  a  discreet  reticence, 
a  use  of  old  phraseology  in  a  private  sense  with 
mental  reservations,  they  maintain  their  status,  and 


3 


5 


r 


88 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


c 


C.:l 


C. 


their  hearers  have  no  conception  of  their  true  be- 
lief. They  are  good  and  sincere  men  ;  they  never 
utter  what  to  their  minds  in  their  privat*^  under- 
standing is  false ;  but  they  know  that  people  are 
not  yet  generally  prepared  to  receive  the  truths 
which  modern  science  has  revealed,  and  th oy  be- 
lieve that  the  highest  usefulness  is  subserved  by 
this  suppression  of  their  convictions.  Others  see 
the  light,  and  know  that  scholarly  criticism  has  dis- 
proved the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  many 
of  the  books  of  the  Bible,  but  early  training  and 
present  surroundings  make  them  shut  their  eyes 
and  murmur  the  maxims  of  their  youth:  "The 
finite  cannot  comprehend  the  Infmite."  "  Reason 
must  )'iekl  to  faith."  **  God's  thoughts  are  higher 
than  ours."  **  If  we  could  understand  all  God's 
words,  it  would  throw  doubt  on  their  divine  oritrin." 
And  they  trample  on  their  intellects,  as  multitudes 
like  myself  have  done  and  are  still  doing,  to  pre- 
serve their  faith.  My  "evidence"  of  this  is  asked 
for.  My  reason  told  me  years  ago  that  Christianity 
was  merely  the  best  form  of  morality  and  religion 
that  the  human  mind  had  been  able  to  develop, 
and  its  literature  was  only  the  best  religious  writ- 
ings of  men.  The  difference  between  them  and  all 
other  religions  and  sacred  books  was  only  one  of 
dei^ree,  not  of  kind. 

I  yielded  to  early  training  so  far  as  resolutely  to 
trample  on    my  iiitcllcct, — there  is  no  other  word 


K 


\ 


\ 


■;.    ■ 


GAIX  CM*  LOSS? 


89 


for  it, — and  for  years  I  buried  myself  in  the  Bible 
and  Orthodox  commentaries,  upon  the  theory  that 
the  Christian  must  be  "a  man  of  one  book."  And 
so  he  must.  A  truer  word  was  never  uttered.  If 
he  could  read  this  book  as  he  reads  his  newspaper, 
with  intelliixence  and  common  sense,  he  would  see 
it  in  its  true  light  as  a  human  compilation  of  Jew- 
ish literature ;  but  the  bias  of  education,  church, 
and  commentator  is  too  stroncf,  and  it  becomes 
God's  word,  which  only  theologians  can  harmonize. 
Men  therefore  become  the  mental  slaves  of  teach- 
ers who  have  had  a  life-traininLT  in  the  art  of  do- 
fending  preconceived  theories  formulated  by  their 
ancestors.  It  would  be  a  wonder  if  such  inLTonious 
effort  did  not  produce  some  seemingly  plausible 
arguments.  These  teachers  are  sincere.  I  was 
sincere,  in  spite  of  my  substratum  of  doubt.  Men 
are  unconsciously  biassed  by  their  interests.  The 
manufacturer  is  a  protectionist,  but  the  farmer  and 
sailor  are  free-traders  ;  and  the  minister  is  a  Cal- 
vinist  or  Unitarian,  or  anything  between,  as  his 
environment  may  determine. 

More  honest  avowal  of  doubt  Is  a  duty  which 
ministers  will  soon  awaken  to.  They  now  hinder 
advancement  by  fearing  to  allude  to  the  researches 
of  the  ablest  scholars  of  the  day,  which  they  pri- 
vately delight  in,  but  feel  it  inexpedient  to  make 
public 

But  I  must  not  neglect  the  charge  of  *'  hasty  in- 


r 


.-J 


:Z9 

15' 

i 


90 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH, 


3  III) 
C!::i 

« III: 

c  ;'.i 


C.  ,i,i 

C::ii 


C.::i 


ferences."  Morality,  I  claim,  exists  independently 
of  religion,  being  the  result  of  universal  experience. 
Then  why,  asks  the  Congrcgationalisty  is  the  stay-at- 
home  farm  laborer  more  moral  than  the  travelled 
sailor?  If  the  world  lasted  but  one  fjeneration, 
this  question  might  apply  to  the  case.  But  the 
dissolute  sailor  dies  an  early  and  loathsome  death 
in  «i  hospital,  and  the  farm  laborer  lives  to  a  green 
old  age  in  tolerable  health  and  comfort.  This  ex- 
perience teaches  the  next  generation  that  drunken- 
ness and  licentiousness  are  injurious,  and,  in  time, 
further  experience  so  impresses  this  fact  upon  so- 
ciety that  commands  are  issued  against  these  prac- 
tices "  in  the  name  of  God."  These  theories  are 
too  well  defended  by  learned  philosophers  to  be 
called  ** hasty  inferences"  of  mine. 

The  other  "hasty  inference"  is  my  assumption 
that  "the  Holy  Spirit  leads  men  to  different  and 
often  opposing  views."  "  How  does  he  know  it  is 
the  Holy  .Spirit  ? "  it  is  asked.  In  this  way  : — Jesus 
said  to  his  followers  :  "  When  he,  the  Spirit  of 
Truth,  is  come,  he  will  guide  you  into  all  truth. 
,  .  .  How  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father 
give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask  him  ?  .  .  . 
He  shall  teach  you  all  things."  In  the  Epistles, 
the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  believers  is 
too  frequently  asserted  to  need  quotation.  The 
divine  injunctions  for  the  gaining  of  religious 
knowledge  are  "  Search  the  Scriptures,"  and  "If 


i 


i 


Ji 


CALV  OR  LOSSf 


9« 


!  I 


any  man  lack  wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God."  Pray- 
erful study  of  Scripture  is  therefore  generally  ac- 
cepted by  Protestant  Christians  as  God's  channel 
of  enlightenment  to  man.  I  was  brought  up 
among  sincere,  godly  men,  who  read  the  Bible  on 
their  knees,  and  taught  me  that  God's  truth  em- 
braces everlasting  punishment  of  all  unbelievers  in 
Christ,  the  election  of  a  few  to  be  saved,  the  bap- 
tism of  infants,  the  keeping  of  the  Sabbath,  a  se- 
lect ordained  ministry  of  preachers,  a  post-millen- 
nial advent  of  Christ,  the  spiritual  or  symbolic- 
al interpretation  of  prophecy,  and  other  dogmas. 
During  voyages  to  the  l:^ast  Indies,  I  became  in- 
timate with  Enirlish  missionaries  holdin<Tf  some 
forms  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Plymouth  Breth- 
ren. They  were  godly,  self-sac ri*icing  men,  intelli- 
gent, and  wonderfully  familiar  with  the  Scriptures. 
They  studied  "  the  Word  "  with  special  prayer  for 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  and,  if  the  Bible  promises  arc 
true,  they  must  have  possessed  it.  Here  was  the 
result :  The  Bible  taught  them  adult  baptism,  the 
abrogation  of  the  "  Sabbath,"  liberty  of  ministry 
for  all  believers  according  to  their  gifts  (not  their 
licenses),  the  pre-millennial  advent  and  near  com- 
ing of  Christ,  the  literal  interpretation  of  prophet- 
ic writings,  and  so  on.  My  own  prayerful  study 
made  me  see  that  the  Bible,  read  as  it  seemed  to 
me  God's  word  to  man  should  be  read,  gives  much 
support  to  these  views ;  for  God  would  not  give  a 


3 


iSfl> 


\r 


ii 


92 


TRA  VELS  AV  FAITH. 


> 

CB 

CI*. 


C3 

V- 


"revelation"  in  unintelligible  allegories.  If  he 
speaks,  he  means  what  he  says.  Afterward,  I 
came  across  men  praying  for  the  Spirit,  who  found 
the  doctrine  of  annihilation  of  the  unbelieving  ; 
and  I  met  others  who  saw  a  limit  to  eternal  pun- 
ishment, and  some  who  denied  the  deity  and  the 
atonement  of  Christ.  Hell  was  my  strong  point, 
as  became  the  son  of  the  champion  of  the  *'  Script- 
ural Argument  for,  and  the  Reasonableness  of 
Future  Everlasting  Punishment."  Hut  here  were 
believers  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  praying 
for  the  Holy  Spirit's  guidance,  and  disproving 
eternal  hell  from  the  very  words  of  the  Bible.  In 
dismay,  I  cried,  Of  what  use  is  such  a  word  of  God 
and  such  a  Holy  Spirit?  Man's  word,  inspired 
only  by  man's  spirit,  teaches  me  when  it  pretends 
to,  and  men  agree  upon  its  meaning.  If  God's 
word  is  true  and  my  observation  of  men  is  worth 
anything  at  all,  some  of  these  men  who  hold  op- 
posing views  are  led  by  the  Spirit,  therefore  the 
Spirit  teaches  error.  This  is  impossible,  therefore 
God's  word  is  not  infallible. 

If  this  is  a  hasty  inference  or  is  illogical,  if  some 
one  will  kindly  demonstrate  it  by  some  argument 
other  than  the  Orthodox  one, — "  You  are  mad  or 
possessed  with  the  devil," — I  shall  welcome  it,  for 
this  is  the  root  of  scepticism  with  me.  Let  me  re- 
peat and  condense  my  argument.  The  revelation 
of  an  infinite   God   must   convey  to  men   truths 


GALV  OR  LOSS? 


93 


which  they  will  understand  alike.  The  Bible  is 
said  to  be  a  revelation  from  God,  Good,  intelli- 
gent men  understand  it  differently.  Therefore, 
the  Bible  is  not  the  "word  of  God." 

One  point  more.  It  is  denied  that  *' Christian- 
ity ignores  the  sinful  world  as  incapable  of  im- 
provement." Bible  Christianity  does, — not  that 
which  now  prevails  most  generally, — though  the 
growing  pre-millennial  creed  is  decidedly  pessi- 
mistic. The  Bible  calls  Christians  out  of  **  the 
world,"  warns  them  not  to  "  love  the  world,"  re- 
minds them  that  all  will  **  be  burned  up,"  tells 
them  not  to  "  lay  up  treasure,"  but  to  "wait  for 
their  Lord."  My  own  sense  of  consistency  has  in 
the  past  weakened  my  interest  in  either  the  mate- 
rial advancement  or  the  pleasures  of  the  world. 
Spiritual  growth  and  salvation  from  hell  were  the 
only  worthy  objects  of  concern  in  this  rapidly  end- 
ing age.  How  could  I  dance  and  smoke  and  go 
to  theatres,  as  many  Christians  do,  while  the  mul- 
titude of  men  around  mc  were  passing  into  cease- 
less doom  !  I  helped  to  start  a  young  men's  so- 
ciety in  the  church,  "  for  the  moral,  social,  and  lit- 
erary improvement  of  the  members  and  their  en- 
listment in  Christian  work."  The  pastor  was  pres- 
ident. We  started  a  night  school  and  a  prayer- 
meeting,  which  were  soon  abandoned  ;  and  the 
meetings  became  jovial  entertainments,  with  violin 
and  piano,  songs,  readings  of   Shakespeare   and 


I 


~j 


94 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


Ca 


fct 


C3 


•c 

•■c 


Handy  Andy,  and  finally  the  erection  of  a  theatre 
stage  in  the  lecture-room  of  the  church,  and  the 
performance  of  "  Bardell  vs,  Pickwick "  in  cos- 
tume. Believing  the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  God, 
I  could  not  approve  of  this,  and  left  the  society. 
Seeing  the  Bible  to  be  the  word  of  man,  I  now 
say,  Do  what  will  make  you  better  and  happier 
now,  in  church  and  out  of  it ;  take  care  of  your 
body  and  mind,  and  your  **  soul "  will  take  care  of 
itself.  I  do  not  deny  that  Christians  enjoy  life 
and  believe  in  **  the  world,"  but  I  say  they  do  so 
in  spite  of  their  creeds. 

I  must  congratulate  the  Congrcgationalist  and 
its  friends  that  they  have  ceased  to  believe  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible  as  they  were  understood  by 
the  last  oreneration  of  Christians.  The  sermons 
which  I  read  or  hear  from  Orthodox  pulpits  show 
that  the  most  scholarly  ministers  are  adopting  the 
religion  of  evolution,  which  scientists  and  liberal 
thinkers  have  propounded,  and  quietly  ignoring 
miracle  and  dogma,  they  add  to  this  a  sentimental 
and  exaggerated  estimate  of  the  character  of  Je- 
sus. This  they  call  Christianity,  and  preach  as 
though  it  had  never  been  anything  else.  Heresy 
hunters  are  turned  off  by  this  enthusiastic  loyalty 
to  the  person  of  Jesus.  Greatly  was  I  astonished 
to  hear  Boston's  most  talented  Congregational 
minister  declare  that  the  Eden  stories  were  allego- 
ries, and   in  their  literal  sense  were  offensive   to 


I 


UAIX  OK  LOSSt 


95 


reason  and  conscience.  Would  that  more  minis- 
ters would  show  such  "  courage  of  conviction "  ! 
Such  consistency  would  relieve  them  from  unfair 
statement  and  save  the  hearers  from  the  hasty  in- 
ference that  the  preachers  are  still  **  Orthodox." 

I  have  been  treated  with  more  courtesy  by  the 
Cong regationa list  than  heretics  often  receive  ;  and 
I  appreciate  the  kindly-intentioned  desires  for  my 
restoration  to  the  faith,  though  their  fulfilment  I 
should  only  regard  as  a  calamity.  I  have  lost  a 
superstitious  belief  which  I  know  ^1s  been  inju- 
rious to  me.  All  else  is  gain,  unless  my  position 
loses  for  me  the  regard  of  the  gc^  d  Congrej^aiicn- 
aiist. 


•> 


5j 
iaf- 


k 


HUMAN  RELIGION. 


3» 

CB 


■  e 


Wherever  we  travel,  we  find  that  religious  be- 
liefs are  as  varying  as  the  conditions  of  men,  and 
that  there  is  a  correspondence  in  quality  between 
the  faith  of  the  heart  and  the  intelligence  of  the 
mind.  Men's  religious  beliefs  are  elevated  and  ra- 
tional in  proportion  to  their  enlightenment  upon 
general  topics.  This  fact  has  sometimes  been  inter- 
preted as  a  proof  that  a  man's  religion  determines 
his  complete  state,  and  that  nations  are  high  or  low 
in  the  scale  of  civilization  in  accordance  with  the 
elevation  of  their  creeds.  Observation,  however, 
convinces  one  that  religion  is  not  the  cause,  but 
the  effect,  of  the  education  of  the  mental  faculties. 
The  Bushman  of  South  Africa  comprehends  all  of 
God  that  his  untutored  mind  is  capable  of  receiv- 
ing, while  the  educated  modern  philosopher  soars 
into  the  transcendental  theories  that  are  incompre- 
hensible to  the  ordinary  intellects  of  civilized  lands. 
The  proof  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  improve- 
ment of  the  intellect  always  precedes  an  advance 
in  the  religious  creed  among  races  of  men,  though 
the  stimulus  given  to  the  mind  by  the  statement 
of  a  nobler  faith  quickens  the  faculties,  and  some- 
times makes  both  advances  appear  coincident. 
Polytheism,  or  idolatry,  is  abandoned  for  monothe- 


HUMAN  KEI.IGIOX. 


97 


f 


1 


ism,  or  the  worship  of  one  God,  when  the  savage 
learns  enounrh  of  science  to  know  that  the  sun  is 
not  a  fiery  dragon,  and  that  all  the  forces  of  nature 
are  not  so  many  demons.  If  *he  higher  religion  is 
given  him  by  authority  before  the  facts  of  nature, 
upon  which  it  is  based,  arc  made  known,  he  soon 
degrades  it  to  the  level  of  his  former  creed.  Thus, 
Roman  Catholicism  gains  many  followers  in  heathen 
lands  simply  by  a  change  of  idols  and  the  superior 
sensuousness  of  its  rites.  The  Chinaman  worships 
the  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary  instead  of  that  of 
Joss  or  Buddha,  and  experiences  no  mental  altera- 
tion, whereas  the  effort  of  Protestant  Christianity 
to  overthrow  idolatry  is  based  upon  reason,  and 
its  progress  is  therefore  toilsome  and  slow.  That 
religious  belief  depends  upon  the  intellect  is  evi- 
denced by  the  different  interpretations  given  to  the 
same  faith  by  its  followers.  The  ignorant  Persian 
worships  lire  as  his  god,  and  firmly  believes  it  to  be 
the  supreme  power.  But  an  intelligent  Parsee  in 
Bombay  once  said  to  me,  "  Me  no  worship  fire,  me 
worship  mighty  God,  but  me  worship  him  through 
fire."  The  ignorant  Romanist  is  on  a  level  with 
the  idolater  in  his  reverence  for  the  objects  adored 
in  his  faith,  but  the  educated  man  knows  they  are 
only  symbols  of  spiritual  truths  :  each  makes  his 
religion  to  suit  his  capacity.  The  chicken-stealing 
member  of  the  African  Church  of  the  Southern 
States  has  a  conception  of  Christianity  as  widely 


Iflf 


•J 


■ -J  1 

.:  J  _ 


98 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


f" , 


Car, 
fa 

I'. 


J  t. 


different  from  that  of  the  graduate  from  a  theolog- 
ical seminary  as  is  the  range  in  the  capacity  of 
their  brains  and  the  difference  in  their  culture. 
One  of  these  devout  negroes  thus  related  his  con- 
version to  my  brother,  who  was  for  a  time  his  pas- 
tor. I  will  not  attempt  to  imitate  the  negro  dia- 
lect. 

"  I  had  been  thinking  a  good  deal  about  religion, 
and  at  last  I  had  a  dream  one  night.  I  thought  I 
was  on  board  of  a  ship,  and  a  big  monkey  came 
and  chased  me  all  around  the  deck.  I  got  into  the 
rigging  and  climbed  up  the  mast  just  as  fast  as  1 
could  go,  but  the  monkey  came  after  me  ;  and  when 
I  got  away  up  to  the  top  of  the  mast,  he  was  just 
going  to  put  his  paw  on  me,  when  I  fell  off  and 
tumbled  away  down  to  the  deck.  Then,  I  woke 
up,  and  found  out  that  Td  got  religion."  His  es- 
cape from  the  monkey  gave  him  "joy  and  peace  in 
believing." 

A  sailor,  who  was  converted  under  my  influence 
at  sea,  told  me  that,  while  in  great  distress  on  ac- 
count of  his  sins,  he  turned  into  his  bunk,  and,  fall- 
ing asleep,  dreamed  that  he  had  a  pet  animal  '\\\ 
his  arms.  He  was  pursued  by  the  devil ;  and,  just 
as  he  was  going  to  fall  into  his  clutches,  he  tossed 
the  animal  to  him,  and  made  his  escape.  He 
awoke  feeling  happy,  and  at  once  told  all  the  ship's 
company  he  had  become  a  Christian.  Another 
sailor,  of  more  education,  dreamed  the  end  of  the 


» 


HUMAN  RELIGIOX 


99 


world  had  come  and  he  was  wading  knee-deep  in  a 
fiery  river :  this  so  impressed  him  that  he  soon 
after  "gave  his  heart  to  God,"  in  order  to  secure 
his  eternal  safety.  I  recall  the  conversion  of  an- 
other person  of  superior  attainments,  who  for  some 
years  had  been  repelled  from  embracing  religion  by 
'.  the  representation  of  God  as  a  consuming  fire. 
When  led  to  realize  that  God  loved  her,  she  said, 
"Then,  I  will  love  him."  She  became  a  Christian. 
When  asked  for  a 'statement  of  her  belief,  she  wrote 
out  the  following:  "God  loves  me,  and  therefore 
I  love  him.  Loving  us,  he  wishes  our  greatest  and 
eternal  happiness  ;  therefore  bids  us  keep  his  com- 
mandments. Because  we  love  him,  we  try  to  keep 
his  commandments  and  brinor  forth  the  fruits  of  the 
spirit,  so  that,  becoming  like  him,  we  may  be  fitted 
to  enjoy  his  company,  which  is  heaven."  She  knew 
nothing  of  conviction  of  sin  or  atonement.  Others 
"experience  religion"  by  feeling  guilty,  dreading 
the  wrath  of  God,  and  accepting  Jesus  as  the  Sav- 
iour, through  faith  in  his  blood  shed  for  them. 
Thus,  Christianity  is  a  different  religion  to  differ- 
ent believers  in  it.  Each  adapts  it  to  his  own  bent 
of  mind. 

The  Bible  statement,  "God  made  man  in  his 
own  image,"  is  therefore  rightly  reversed,  and  we 
say,  "  Man  makes  God  in  his  own  image,"  and  it  is 
true  that  "  an  honest  God  is  the  noblest  work  of 
man  ";  for,  as  a  man  thinketh  in  his  heart,  so  is  he, 


-I'i 


Ji 


' '  I 


too 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


r" 


'!f' 


CB 


'C. 

«■«;.■ 


and  the  conception  each  forms  of  the  Deity  shows, 
the  highest  capacity  and  aspiration  of  his  own  na- 
ture. Many  will  admit  that  religions  owe  their 
origin  to  the  fears  and  hopes  of  men,  if  we  except 
their  own  religion.  All  are  of  human  invention 
except  their  own,  which  came  direct  from  heaven, 
God  spoke  to  Confucius,  Zoroaster,  Gautama, 
Moses,  Paul,  Mohammed,  Swedenborg,  and  Joe 
Smith, — so  the  follower  of  each  claims,  but  denies 
that  he  spoke  to  any  of  the  others.  Among  the 
followers  of  Moses  and  Paul,  called  **  Christians," 
a  difference  exists  about  the  interpretation  of  these 
words  of  God,  each  claimin*):  to  be  the  custodian 
of  the  truth.  The  Roman  Church,  the  Greek 
Church,  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  sects  of  Chris- 
tians in  the  United  States  and  one  hundred  and 
forty-six  in  England,  each  believes  itself  to  have 
the  mind  of  the  Spirit,  that  Christ  promised  should 
lead  his  followers  into  all  truth.  A  leading  light 
among  the  '*  Brethren  "  in  England  seriously  told 
me  that  he  never  knew  any  one  to  study  the  Bible 
prayerfully  without  accepting  his  views  as  to  the 
order  and  standing  of  the  Church  :  others  studied, 
but  not  prayerfully.  Yet  this  good  man  had  quar- 
relled with  the  other  leaders  of  his  sect,  and  set  up 
a  separate  meeting  of  his  own.  Each  believed  he 
had  the  Infallible  guidance  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
possessed  a  knowledge  of  the  truth.  But  their 
bitter  expressions  of  disapproval  of  each   others 


HUMAN  RELlGIOiV. 


101 


divinely  received  views  almost  brought  their  quar- 
rels into  the  civil  courts.  When  asked,  '*  Why,  if 
,  the  Brethren  have  the  real  truth  of  God,  do  they 
not  give  the  divine  evidence  of  unity?"  his  answer 
was  :  "When  Saul  and  Barnabas  were  set  apart  for 
the  work  of  the  ministry  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  Satan 
at  once  proceeded  to  sow  dissension  between  them. 
He  doesn't  trouble  himself  to  annoy  professors  of 
false  creeds ;  but  as  he  saw  Saul  and  Barnabas 
about  to  engage  in  spreading  the  true  faith,  and 
therefore  attacked  them,  so  he  now  sees  the  true 
Church  of  God  in  the  Brethren,  and  uses  every  ef- 
fort to  disperse  them.  The  fact  that  there  is  more 
dissension  amonj^  the  Brethren  than  amon^-  almost 
any  of  the  sects  of  Christendom  is  only  a  proof  that 
they  hold  the  truth  whose  destruction  Satan  deems 
most  vital  to  his  cause."  This  came  from  no  com- 
mon man,  but  from  one  noted  for  his  learning,  skill, 
piety,  and  self-sacrifice.  But  no  utterance  has  done 
more  to  convince  me  that  his  religion  is  from  man, 
not  from  God.  God  is  not  the  author  of  confusion. 
Men  sincerely  pray  for  the  Spirit  to  lead  them  into 
the  right  view  of  the  written  word  of  God,  and  each 
gets  a  different  result.  Each  is  equally  sure  of  his 
own  sincerity  and  conscientious  search,  and  de- 
nounces the  views  of  all  others  as  error.  Who  shall 
decide  what  is  right  ?  No  one  is  Fitted  to  be  judge 
in  his  own  cause.  No  Christian  can  be  accepted 
as  an  infallible  arbiter,  when  he  tells  us  all  religions 


i 


'5 


■1\ 
~  I 


103 


TRAVELS  m  FAIT/f. 


2*' 
cr 


if 


It 


are  human  conceptions  except  Christianity ;  and 
no  member  of  a  Christian  sect  is  good  enough  au- 
thority for  the  assertion  that  his  sect  only  reads  ^ 
the  Bible  aright.  He  is  assuming  the  infallibility 
which  he  denounces  the  Pope  and  the  Romish 
Church  for  claiming.  The  only  fair  tribunal  to 
which  can  be  referred  the  claim  of  Christianity  to 
be  the  one  divinely  revealed  religion,  is  the  great 
and  increasing  body  of  men,  who,  in  all  civilized 
lands,  are  devoting  their  lives  to  the  study  of  the 
facts  of  nature  and  society  and  the  critical  research 
of  the  records  of  each  in  past  ages.  Christianity, 
as  God's  sole  truth,  must  stand  or  fall  by  its  accord 
with  the  facts  which  are  scientifically  established. 

The  records  of  nature  have  now  been  found  to 
reveal  an  orderly  and  progressive  system  of  the 
development  of  matter  and  mind  into  its  present 
forms,  extending  through  vast  ages,  proving  the 
Mosaic  story  of  creation  to  be  untrue,  and  placing 
it  among  the  myths  of  earlier  days  of  the  human 
race,  which  are  found  to  abound  in  the  traditions 
or  literature  of  all  people.  This  orderly  progress 
of  nature  reveals  an  unvarying  method,  which 
makes  every  effect  the  result  of  preceding  natural 
causes;  and  the  violations  of  its  methods,  called 
**  miracles,"  are  unsupported  by  sufficient  evidence 
to  warrant  their  belief.  Every  miracle  of  which 
circumstances  have  permitted  a  scientific  examina- 
tion has  been  disproved,  and  shown  either  to  be  a 


HUMAN  RELIGIOX. 


'03 


fraud  or  to  be  the  result  of  a  law  of  nature  known 
or  fairly  supposed.  The  miracles  of  our  days  are 
now  on  the  eve  of  solution  by  the  discovery  of  the 
laws  of  psycholo<;y  and  animal  magnetism,  which 
many  learned  men  believe  will  in  time  soKe  all 
that  is  not  fraudulent  in  the  phenomena  of  Spirit- 
ualism. Historical  study  shows  the  Bible  wonders 
to  be  of  the  same  character  as  those  recorded  in 
the  religious  books  of  all  other  nations  ;  and  liter- 
ary criticism  proves  it  to  abound  in  errors,  incon- 
sistencies, and  contradictions,  showing  it  to  be  the 
word  of  man.  The  Christian  scheme  of  theology 
must  therefore  take  ics  place  in  the  order  of  the 
development  of  human  thought,  and  in  time  give 
place  to  the  next  system  which  the  advancing  niind 
of  man  evolves  ;  that,  in  turn,  to  be  improved  upon 
as  knowledge  of  nature  and  the  control  of  her  forces 
increases. 

A  study  of  the  theories  of  evolution  leads  most 
people  to  accept  them,  and  the  only  certain  way 
in  which  one  can  maintain  his  belief  in  the  religious 
faith  he  has  adopted  by  the  accident  of  birth  is 
never  to  question  it.  One  who  attempts  to  sub- 
mit his  creed  to  rational  tests,  as  he  treats  every- 
thing else  in  life,  must  either  become  an  entire 
sceptic  of  the  supernatu.al,  or  else  fall  into  the 
arms  of  an  authoritative  Church  and  accept  all  its 
dogmas  without  question.  The  churchman  who 
reasons  for  himself  is  lost  to  bis  religion.     This 


r 
II. 


;3l 

.'a  ' 


104 


TRAVELS  IN  FAJTIf. 


'i 

I? 


is  well  illustrated  by  the  careers  of  the  Newman 
brothers,  who,  in  the  search  for  truth,  have  be- 
come, one  a  cardinal  in  the  Romish  Church,  the 
other  an  ultra-rationalist. 

While  firmly  believing  that  all  religious  ideas 
proceed  from  men's  minds,  and  not  from  direct  ex- 
ternal revelations  from  God,  we  may  recognize  the 
law  of  evolution  in  the  development  of  religious 
thought  as  the  same  which  produces  all  variation 
and  progress  in  nature.  Religion  as  well  as  sci- 
ence is  the  result  of  the  working  of  the  infinite 
power  which  inspires  matter.  These,  and  all 
things,  in  this  sense,  are  "of  God."  y^/// religions 
are  therefore  "of  God."  "God"  has  developed 
erroneous  ideas  in  science  and  false  notions  in  re- 
ligion ;  but  they  were  steps  in  progress,  and  the 
infinite  force  is  slowly  evolving  newer  and  truer 
conceptions  from  men's  minds.  Religion  is  as 
truly  of  human  origin  as  astronomy  and  mechan- 
ics, and  as  truly  divine  as  geology  and  meteorol- 
ogy. "  God"  has  revealed  religion  as  truly  and  in 
the  same  manner  as  he  has   revealed  ship-build- 


f.  <    ■ 

(I  ' 


IS  THE  BIBLE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD? 


Criticism  of  the  Bible  is  considered  to  belonir 
to  an  elementary  stage  of  rationalism,  and  is 
scarcely  tolerated  by  many  advanced  thinkers  who 
have  far  outgrown  discussion  upon  so  trite  a  theme. 
But  a  book  that  has  an  annual  circulation  of  three 
million  copies  is  still  deserving  of  attention  ;  and  it 
is  possible  there  are  some  readers  to  whom  one  more 
statement  of  reasons  which  led  an  inquirer  to  the 
rejection  of  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  may  be 
beneficial  and  interesting. 

The  Book  of  Genesis  gives  an  account  of  the 
creation  of  the  present  condition  of  the  world  and 
all  its  forms  of  life  in  six  days,  man  being  formed 
complete  and  "grown  up"  out  of  the  dust,  and 
woman  being  made  from  the  man's  rib.  Science 
proves  this  to  be  entirely  untrue,  and  history  shows 
the  record  to  be  on  a  par  with  various  other  le- 
gends of  creation,  which  other  races  of  men  hav^e 
made,  though  it  is  superior  to  most  in  one  respect, 
the  recognition  of  only  one  God.  Theologians 
are  desperately  trying  to  save  the  Bible  by  ingen- 
ious theories,  none  of  which,  so  far,  will  bear  the 
scrutiny  either  of  ricience  or  common  sense.  They 
make  the  days  long  periods,  though  this  is  in  con- 


r 

» 

i 


io6 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


3r 

«?: 

fet 

'•eJii 
'■»-, 


tradiction  to  the  plain  words  of  Scripture,  and  even 
then  fails  to  solve  the  difficulty. 

The  second  chapter  of  Genesis  contains  another 
legend  of  the  creation,  differing  from  the  first  in 
important  particulars,  but  no  more  reconcilable 
with  facts.  It  is  now  established  in  the  opinion 
of  scholars  that  the  world  is  of  immense  age,  and 
that  man  has  existed  upon  the  earth  for  a  much 
longer  period  than  the  story  in  Genesis  makes  pos- 
sible. The  records  of  the  earth  itself  contradict 
this  legend.  The  nebular  hypothesis,  though  still 
only  a  theory,  accounts  for  the  formation  of  the 
universe  in  accordance  with  all  known  facts  ;  and 
science  discovers  many  uncontroverted  evidences 
of  the  gradual  progression  of  the  earth  and  its  in- 
habitants to  their  present  form.  Prof.  Huxley  as- 
serts that  the  chalk  cliffs  of  England,  whiclv  are 
composed  of  the  minute  shells  of  sea  animalcules, 
must  have  been  at  least  ten  thousand  years  in 
forming  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  They  have 
slowly  risen  to  the  surface  and  subsided  four  dif- 
ferent times,  remaining  exposed  such  long  periods 
as  to  collect  vegetable  and  animal  life,  whose  re- 
mains tell  their  own  story.  A  pious  lady,  to  whom 
this  was  mentioned,  excitedly  exclaimed,  **  It  was 
all  made  by  God  in  one  night."  When  asked  if  it 
was  either  reasonable  or  honest  in  God  to  create 
old  bones,  fossil  plants,  the  rock  debris  from  ice- 
bergs, and  then  cover  them  up  in  four  successive 


/S  THE  BIBLE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD? 


107 


layers  to  deceive  man  as  to  the  earth's  origin  and 
to  contradict  his  own  story  in  Genesis,  she  was 
speechless.  But  the  next  day  she  said,  "  God  says 
so,  and  I  believe  him." 

There  is  a  marvellous  succession  of  forms  in 
vegetable  and  animal  life,  and  a  connection  be- 
tween each  ijrade  so  close  as  to  suixirest  the 
probability  and  almost  certainty  that  the  higher 
forms  have  sprung  from  the  lower.  Anatomists 
tell  us  that  the  embryo  of  man  appears  successively 
to  be  identical  with  that  of  a  plant,  an  animalcule, 
an  oyster,  a  fish,  a  quadruped,  a  high  form  of 
mammal,  an  ape.  If  the  individual  passes  through 
these  forms,  is  it  not  probable  that  the  race  has 
likewise  developed  from  these  lower  races?  Anat- 
omists also  tell  us  that  men  have  rudimentary  tails, 
and  it  is  observed  that  the  disuse  of  an  organ  in 
animals  tends  to  its  disappearance.  Why  should 
God  take  the  trouble  to  make  a  useless  tail  bone, 
when  he  formed  Adam  out  of  the  dust  ?  Is  it  not 
more  likely  that  man  has  developed  from  a  tailed 
animal?  This  theory  is  considered  revolting  by 
many,  who  think  it  less  honorable  to  be  an  im- 
proved animal  than  a  degraded  God ;  but  taste 
should  not  be  an  arbiter  in  the  judgment  of  truth, 
though  it  is  usually  deemed  nobler  to  ascend  than 
to  descend. 

But  leaving  the  question  of  creation,  as  one  pro- 
ceeds through  the  Bible,  he  is  confronted  on  nearly 


ii 

«. 

1 


io8 


TRAVELS  JN  FAITH. 


k 

t:»- 


every  page  with  statements  which  offend  either  his 
reason  or  conscience.  If  any  one  wishes  to  see  a 
statement  of  Biblical  errors,  let  him  read  Paine's 
"  Age  of  Reason,"  and  with  it  let  him  take  Bishop 
Watson's  "  Reply  to  Paine,"  and  read  what  is  con- 
sidered by  the  orthodox  an  unanswerable  defence 
of  the  Bible.  Or,  for  a  smaller  work,  let  him  take 
the  "  Lecture  on  the  Bible,"  by  Rev.  Charles  Voy- 
sey,  published  by  the  Index  Association,  Boston. 
It  would  be  sufficient  to  read  the  Bible  alone,  to 
discover  the  falsity  of  the  claims  its  friends  make 
for  it,  were  it  not  that  educational  prejudices  are 
so  strong  one  cannot  easily  treat  the  book  as  he 
does  other  literature.  But  let  one  take  up  the 
Bible  as  he  does  any  modern  book,  and  judge  of 
its  contents  according  to  the  impression  made  upon 
his  faculties,  and  it  seems  impossible  not  to  reject 
its  claim  to  be  the  infallibly  inspired  word  of  God, 
and  perceive  it  to  be  a  compilation  of  Hebrew  tradi- 
tion and  poetry  made  by  men  in  darker  ages  than 
the  present. 

All  the  phenomena  of  witchcraft  are  now  be- 
lieved by  scientists  to  be  the  products  of  natural 
laws.  If  they  are  right,  is  not  God  proved  guilty 
of  ignorance  when  he  gave  the  edict,  "  Thou  shalt 
not  suffer  a  witch  to  live,"  and  was  it  not  a  wicked 
ignorance  which  through  this  command  has  caused 
such  countless  murders  and  persecutions?  Dr. 
Sprenger,  in    his  "  Life  of  Mohammed,"  estimates 


/S  THE  lUIil.L   THE  WORD  Oh  GOD? 


109 


that  nine  million  people  have  been  put  to  death  as 
witches  during  the  Christian  era.  Blackstone  said 
that  to  deny  witchcraft  was  to  deny  revelation. 
How  can  the  inspiration  of  this  law  stand  the  lii^ht 
of  the  present  day  ?  The  issue  is  avoided  only 
by  denyinLj  the  facts  of  scientific  research  and  re- 
vivinor  the  old  belief  in  "  bein*:^  possessed  of  the 
devil."  Prof.  Phelps,  of  Andover,  has  consistently 
avowed  this  solution. 

The  atrocities  of  the  Hebrew  armies,  done  in 
the  name  and  by  command  of  God,  the  absurd 
wonders  of  Balaam,  Gideon,  Joshua,  San\son,  V.\\- 
jah,  Hezeki'h,  and  Jonah,  and  the  incomprehen- 
sible rhapsodies  of  the  prophets,  out  of  which 
learned  and  imaij^inative  men  can  invent  any  the- 
ory they  choose,  are  to  a  rellectiuij  mind  strong 
means  of  breaking  down  an  inherited  belief  in  the 
inspiration  of  the  Bible. 

But,  admitting  the  Old  Testament  to  be  a  hu- 
man compilation,  some  think  the  New  Testament 
can  stand  alone  as  the  word  of  God.  One  of  the 
first  things  that  excites  distrust  here  is  the  discov- 
ery that  all  the  prophecies  claimed  as  referring  to 
Christ  are  found  to  be  uttered  about  people  or 
events  of  the  times  in  which  the  writer  lived,  and 
that  the  application  of  them  to  Christ  is  either 
fraudulent  or  the  use  of  an  excessive  poetic  li- 
cense. The  story  of  the  temptation  in  the  wilder- 
ness is  as  hard  to  accept  as  that  of  the  temptation 


%  ; 

•3  ; 

-J 

'1    • 


no 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


I 


of  Adam  and  Eve  in  Paradise ;  and,  if  one  begins 
to  admit  that  any  Bible  stories  are  mere  symbols, 
there  is  no  end  to  the  extent  to  which  its  text  can 
be  symbolized  away. 

A  comparison  of  the  different  accounts  of  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  reveals  discrepancies  that  no 
honest  harmonizint^  can  blend  into  consistency 
with  the  idea  that  God  has  told  us  the  story.  Nor 
would  any  English-speaking  j^^i^Rc  accept  a  fact 
upon  such  testimony  in  a  court  of  law.  Let  each 
write  out  the  stories  in  parallel  columns,  and  de- 
cide for  himself.  The  different  ti;enealo<ries  of 
Jesus  in  Matthew  and  Luke  ;  the  incidents  of  the 
miraculous  conception  and  birth ;  the  star  in  the 
east;  the  slaui^hter  of  children  by  Herod,  men- 
tioned only  by  Matthew  and  unnoticed  in  his- 
tory ;  the  differintj  accounts  of  Saul's  conversion  ; 
the  miracle  stories ;  the  fact  that  Jesus  is  not 
mentioned  by  contemporary  historians ;  the  un- 
certainty as  to  who  wrote  the  Gospels  and  when 
they  were  written, — all  these  things,  and  multi- 
tudes that  it  would  be  tedious  to  mention,  prove 
the  New  Testament  to  be  the  word  of  man,  and 
of  l(?ss  enlightened  man  than  exists  to-day. 

The  study  of  prophecy  occupies  many  minds. 
Writers  upon  these  subjects  glean  many  disjoint- 
ed passages,  which,  ingeniously  matched  together, 
make  a  wonderful  testimony;  but,  when  these  pas- 


AV  THE  lilliLE  THE  IVOKD  OF  GODf 


III 


t 


- 


sages  are  read  in  the   Bible  in  their  proper  con- 
nection, they  tell  a  different  story. 

If  God  inspired  the  writers  of  the  Hible,  it 
would  also  be  necessary  to  the  fulfilment  of  his 
purpose  that  he  should  superintend  the  compila- 
tion of  its  books  by  councils,  its  translation  by  schol- 
ars, and  its  interpretation  by  commentators.  But 
the  facts  do  not  show  that  this  has  been  done,  as 
new  versions  would  not  be  needed,  nor  would 
doctrinal  quarrels  exist.  Mas  God  allowed  men 
for  eighteen  hundred  years  to  accejjt  the  plain 
words  of  his  revelation  which  teach  future  endlesj-' 
punishment,  and  is  he  now  going  to  accommodate 
his  truth  to  the  culture  of  this  century,  and  let  uj) 
a  little  in  the  severity  of  the  doctrine?  lias  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  came  to  guide  into  all  truth,  led 
men  to  believe  error  for  eighteen  hundred  years 
because  it  was  best  for  their  minds  ;  and,  now  that 
their  mental  calibre  demands  something  different 
is  he  going  to  reveal  **  a  new  phase  of  truth,"  and 
allow  men  to  modify  the  severity  of  the  doctrine 
of  hell?  Will  theologians  admit  that  God  gave  a 
written  revelation  of  the  future  destiny  of  men, 
which  could  not  be  understood  till  eighteen  cent- 
uries of  development  evolved  their  own  brilliant 
intellects?  We  can  conceive  of  God  as  revealing 
truth  progressively,  as  a  child  is  taught  at  school, 
but  not  as  teaching  what  is  untrue,  in  order  to 


Si 


112 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


'C_... 


prepare  the  way  for  the  truth,  centuries  after  his 
dupes  have  died. 

It  is  a  common  saying,  "You  can  prove  any- 
thing by  the  Bible."  Coincidences  and  far-away 
resemblances  in  different  portions  of  the  text  have 
been  made  to  do  duly  by  expositors,  as  showing 
"  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  "  in  making  the  disjointed 
Scriptures  an  harmonious  whole.  At  a  Bible 
reading,  I  heard  Harry  Moorhouse  explain  the 
meaning  of  Clirist's  riding  into  Jerusalem  on  an 
ass's  colt,  after  this  manner:  "In  Job  xi.,  12,  we 
read.  *  I'^or  vain  man  would  be  wise,  though  man 
be  born  like  a  wild  ass's  colt.'  The  wild  ass's  colt 
is  therefore  an  emblem  of  man.  In  Exodus  xiii., 
13,  we  read,  'And  every  firstling  of  an  ass  thou 
shalt  redeem  with  a  lamb  ;  and  if  thou  wilt  not  re- 
deem it,  then  thou  shalt  break  his  neck.'  Here, 
atrain,  the  ass's  colt  is  the  emblem  of  sinful  man, 
who  must  be  redeemed  by  the  Lamb  of  God,  or 
else  perish  forever.  So,  in  Christ's  entry  into 
Jerusalem  on  an  ass's  colt,  we  see  a  symbol  of  the 
Redeemer  and  the  redeemed  entering  into  glory." 
This  is  making  comparison  "go  on  all  fours"  ;  but 
many  hear  such  things  and  exclaim:  "Wonderful! 
how  the  parts  of  the  Bible  fit  into  each  other! 
Only  God  could  have  inspired  writings  in  different 
ages  which  would  display  such  a  unity  of  design." 

An  intelligent  Swedenborgian  tells  me  why  Jesus 
-was  laid  in  a  manger.     It  was  not  because  there 


J. 


/S  THE  BIIiLE  THE  WORD  OF  GOD? 


"3 


was  no  room  for  him  in  the  inn,  but  because  God 
deliberately  chose  the  manger  to  illustrate  a  truth. 
The  horse  is  used  in  Scripture  as  an  emblem  of  the 
understanding.  He  gets  his  food  from  the  man- 
ger. God  therefore  put  Jesus  in  the  manger,  to 
teach  the  world  that  he  was  the  truth  upon  which 
the  understanding  must  feed.  The  Bible  is  only 
an  allegor)\  The  story  of  creation  and  the  forma- 
tion of  Adam  is  merely  a  figurative  account  of  the 
condition  of  the  Church  at  a  certain  period.  The 
Bible  is  of  no  value  to  the  Swedenbor^ians  as  a 
literal  narrative,  while  to  the  Plymouth  Brethren 
every  word  has  a  literal  import  in  relation  to  some 
fact.  Calvin ists  use  both  methods.  If  their  doc- 
trine can  be  sup|)orted  by  a  spiritual  interpretation 
of  the  text,  that  is  clearly  the  right  one  ;  but,  if  it 
brings  stronger  evidence  as  a  literal  statement,  that 
is  clearly  its  true  meaning.  Often,  they  combine 
both  systems,  and  make  the  text  work  both  ways, 
by  using  its  primary  meaning  as  literal,  and  its 
secondary  signification  as  spiritual.  Of  course,  wc 
are  at  liberty  to  find  spiritual  significance  and  sug- 
gestion in  every  one  of  nature's  facts  or  author's 
words;  but  it  is  another  thing  to  declare  the  au- 
thor's true  spiritual  thought  in  an  ordinary  state- 
ment of  fact,  then  found  a  doctrine  upon  it,  and 
call  it  by  the  author's  name,  as  though  he  inten- 
tionally founded  it.  This  acceptance  of  the  Bible 
as  supernatural  and  these  different  systems  of  inter- 


c 


114 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


Vz 

ie:: 


preting  it  are  the  foundation  of  all  sectarianism. 
The  learners  in  every  other  department  of  knowl- 
edge dispute  as  to  the  truth  of  the  statements  made 
by  the  writers  in  those  sciences,  but  they  do  not 
differ  materially  as  to  what  the  writers  intended  to 
teach.  In  medicine,  one  author  asserts  the  truth 
of  allopathy,  and  another  maintains  homceopathy : 
disputes  are  vigorously  carried  on  as  to  which  is 
right ;  but  there  is  no  controversy  as  to  what  each 
writer  intended  to  teach.  Here  is  where  the  Bible 
differs  from  all  other  books.  God  is  said  to  have 
written  it,  and  the  world  is  divided  as  to  what  it 
meant  to  teach  ;  but  every  human  writer  on  earthly 
knowledge  succeeds  in  giving  his  readers  an  under- 
standing of  what  he  means  to  assert.  If  we  were 
told  God  had  ji^iven  a  revelation  on  medicine,  would 
we  receive  it  as  divine,  if  it  divided  up  the  world 
into  two  hundred  medical  schools,  many  of  them 
utterly  opposed  ?  Would  not  the  real  meaning  of 
God's  message  about  medicine  be  understood  sub- 
stantially alike  by  all  ?  Would  any  man  be  re- 
spected who  could  not  tell  his  own  mind  upon 
medical  subjects,  so  that  his  meaning  could  be  per- 
ceived ?  When  God  writes  on  theology,  Trinita- 
rians, Unitarians,  Swedenborgians,  and  all  other 
sects,  will  find  their  occupation  gone;  and,  when 
he  writes  on  medicine,  doctors  will  agree. 


0 


t 


s*> 


THE  BIBLE  A  HUMAN  BOOK. 

Why  is  it  that  differences  of  opinion  upon  earth- 
knowledge  are  regarded  so  much  more  leniently 
than  differences  upon  theology  ?  Bitter  words  cer- 
tainly are  waged  between  scientists,  but  social  os- 
tracism and  denunciation  of  personal  character 
seem  to  belong  especially  to  religious  controversy. 
The  reason  is  that  scientists  know  thai  all  knowl- 
edge is  the  result  of  human  research,  but  theolo- 
gians claim  a  direct  revelation  from  God  to  man 
about  their  doctrines.  When  they  admit  that 
knowledge  of  the  unseen  world  has  no  other  key 
than  that  which  unlocks  the  secrets  of  visible  mat- 
ter; that  all  departments  of  learning  are  on  an 
equal  footing,  each  open  to  the  full,  free,  and  fear- 
less investigation  of  man  ;  that  no  supernatural 
information  has  ever  been  given  by  any  supreme 
being  upon  any  subject,  but  that  all  the  attain- 
ments of  man  are  the  result  of  progressive  steps, 
— then  the  earnest  searcher  for  spiritual  and  relig- 
ious truth  will  be  no  more  despised  than  is  the  in- 
ventor, the  chemist,  or  the  electrician.  They  may 
still  see  God  as  the  inspirer  of  matter,  the  won- 
drous power  which  enables  man  to  take  his  toil- 
some, progressive  steps  into  the  realms  of  knowl- 
edge, even  though  they  admit  that  he  never  re- 


I  ' 


ii6 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


eg 


■I 


vealed  morality  all  at  once  from  Sinai,  nor  his 
scheme  of  mercy  in  one  dogma  from  Calvary,  any 
more  than  he  revealed  the  railroad  in  E norland  or 
the  telegraph  in  America.  All  have  grown  from 
man's  gradual  experience  through  the  ages  ;  and 
yet  this  is  no  less  truly  '*of  God,"  if  by  that  name 
we  mean  the  principal  of  action  that  pervades  na- 
ture. God  spoke  as  truly  to  Stephenson  and  Morse 
as  he  did  to  Moses  and  Paid.  He  said,  Let  rail- 
road-trains run,  and.  Let  words  be  telegraphed,  just 
as  truly  as  he  said,  *'  Thou  shalt  not  steal."  And 
he  said  it  in  the  same  way  ;  namely,  by  working 
through  matter  in  nature  and  in  man's  organism, 
until  experience  and  observation  made  man  per- 
ceive that  theft  was  injurious  to  society,  that  steam 
could  move  carriages,  and  electricity  could  repeat 
motion. 

If  the  I3ible  is  recognized  as  a  human  book,  it 
will  become  of  more  real  value  to  man.  Now,  it 
is  by  many  worshipped  ignorantly,  as  a  sort  of 
fetich.  Others  injure  their  intellectual  powers  and 
lose  their  common  sense  in  attempting  to  make 
the  works  of  different  writers  in  different  ages  tell 
one  harmonious  story,  as  though  written  by  one  - 
being.  Others,  who  find  some  repulsive  and  in- 
credible things  in  the  book,  spurn  the  whole,  be- 
cause o^  "  i  lo  consider  the  book  as  a  whole.  If 
they  were  :  lu.vcd  to  read  the  Old  Testament  as  a 
record  of  the  traditions,  history,  and  poetry  of  a 


THE  BIBLE  A  HUMAN  BOOK. 


»«7 


i 


\ 


distant  age,  it  would  become  an  intelligible,  inter- 
esting, and  valuable  book  to  them.  If  the  New 
Testament  could  be  admitted  to  contain  the  best 
portrayal  of  human  excellence  ever  written  by  man, 
and  the  philosophies  and  theologies  of  the  early 
centuries  of  this  era,  it  would  then  be  prized  by  such 
men  for  what  it  is  worth ;  and  no  one  will  honestly 
deny  its  real  value.  Men  find  there  eternal  pun- 
ishment for  the  many  and  salvation  for  the  few. 
They  are  told  it  is  God's  Book,  and  they  must  ac- 
cept every  word  ;  but  they  revolt  against  these 
words,  and  throw  away  the  whole. 

One  of  the  most  noted  authors  of  our  day  tokl 
a  friend  that  he  grew  up  with  very  little  knowledge 
of  the  dogmas  of  religion  or  acquaintance  with 
the  Scriptures.  Marrying  a  Christian  woman,  he 
yielded  to  her  entreaties  to  read  the  Bible.  Me 
perused  it  from  Genesis  to  Revelation,  then  shut 
up  the  book,  and  said,  "If  you  wish  me  to  have 
any  respect  for  your  religion,  never  show  me  that 
book  again."  Its  supernaturalism  offended  his 
reason  and  instincts  ;  and,  as  he  was  told  it  was  all 
God's  truth  and  must  be  taken  as  a  whole,  he  would 
have  none  of  it.  This  man's  books  are  read  in 
every  Christian  family  in  the  land,  and  his  unbe- 
lief does  not  seem  to  disqualify  him  for  pleasing* 
and  instructing  others. 

Another  great  difficulty  in  receiving  the  Bible 
as  the  word  of  God  is  the  manner  in  which  its. 


ii 


ii8 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


^! 

-1 

eg 

fc«J« 


if-' 


books  have  been  chosen.  A  large  number  of  apoc- 
ryphal books  are  known  to  have  been  excluded 
from  the  Old  Testament,  though  quotations  from 
some  of  them  appear  to  be  used  by  the  apostles ; 
and  the  New  Testament  is  the  result  of  the  votes 
of  councils,  some  Gospels  and  Epistles  having  been 
rejected,  while  other  Epistles  were  retained  by  a 
bare  majority,  but  all  henceforth  is  the  infallible 
word  of  God.  When  we  revolt  against  inconsist- 
ency and  error  in  it,  we  are  told  the  finite  must  not 
judge  the  infinite,  reason  must  give  place  to  faith. 
But  it  is  faith  in  the  Christian  Fathers  that  is 
needed. 

Again,  if  God  is  God  of  the  whole  earth,  and 
will  have  all  men  to  be  saved,  even  though  he  did 
not  make  Christ  known  until  four  thousand  years 
after  Adam  sinned  and  brought  doom  to  his  race, 
why  was  not  this  word,  which  proclaims  the  fact, 
made  intelligible  to  ordinary  men,  that  they  might 
not  be  the  intellectual  slaves  of  the  learned  hier- 
archy, who  alone  are  professedly  able  to  make  a 
consistent  story  out  of  it  ?  As  it  stands  now,  it  is 
in  no  true  sense  a  **  revelation  "  to  man  ;  for  scarcely 
two  people  can  understand  it  alike.  A  God  who 
had  the  intellectual  powers  of  a  modern  college 
graduate  could  make  a  revelation  that  would  not 
set  all  the  world  at  variance  in  attempting  to  ex- 
plain it ;  and  he  could  find  a  way  of  making  it 
known  to  the  world,  instead  of  confining  its  mani- 


THE  BIBLE  A  i  UMAX  BOOK, 


119 


s 


festation  to  an  obscure  and  semi-barbarous  people 
in  a  corner  of  the  earth,  leaving  vast  multitudes  to 
perish  ere  the  saving  tidings  could  reach  them.  It 
is  derogatory  to  infinite  intelligence  to  call  the 
Bible  its  "  revelation." 

Christ  is  said  to  have  spoken  in  the  Aramaic 
tongue,  a  laniruaore  now  extinct.  His  words  were 
reported  from  mouth  to  mouth,  were  probably 
written  in  Hebrew,  and  after  many  years  were 
translated  into  Greek.  Their  record  was  tran- 
scribed repeatedly  ;  and  the  manuscripts,  written 
several  hundred  years  after  the  death  of  Christ, 
are  now  rendered  into  the  English  language. 
These  words,  passing  through  four  languages,  and 
subject  to  all  the  changes  that  gossips  and  copy- 
ists may  have  wrought,  are  now  presented  to  us  as 
the  word  of  God,  which  determines  our  eternal 
welfare.  Such  a  revelation  is  unworthy  of  an 
omnipotent  being,  who  is  conceived  to  have  infi- 

*  nite  perfection  and  who  desires  to  convince  men  of 
truth  ;  but  it  is  a  consistent  act  on  the  part  of  a 
God  who  hardened  Pharaoh's  heart,  who  is  said  to 
create  evil,  who  said,  "  Make  the  heart  of  this 
people  fat,  and  make  their  ears  heavy,  and  shut 
their  eyes ;  lest  they  see  with  their  eyes,  and  hear 
with  their  ears,  and  understand  with  cheir  heart, 

^  and  convert,  and  be  healed"  (Isa.  vi.,  10),  and  of 
whom  it  is  said,  '•  God  shall  send  them  strong  de- 
lusion, that  they  should  believe  a  lie"  (H.  Thess. 


I20 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


Cfc: 


ii.,  ii).  It  is  conceivable  that  such  a  God  should 
give  a  revelation  that  would  be  incomprehensible. 

Literary  research  is  constantly  throwing  light 
upon  the  human  origin  of  the  Bible  and  the  pagan 
sources  of  its  doctrines.  The  **  Bible  for  Learn- 
ers" revolutionizes  the  chronology  of  the  Old 
Testament  and  its  reputed  authorships.  Kuenen's 
*'  Religion  of  Israel"  gives  a  masterly  exposition  of 
the  details  of  these  subjects,  which  is  condensed  in 
a  work  with  the  same  title  by  Knappert.  The 
oldest  books  are  said  to  be  Amos,  Hosea,  Zecha- 
riah  (ix.-xi.),  and  the  first  twenty-seven  chapters 
of  Isaiah.  The  principal  part  of  Deuteronomy 
was  written  about  620  u.c.  Then,  at  about  the 
time  of  the  captivity  in  Babylon  (586-538  ii.c.), 
Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  and  the  rest  of  Isaiah  were 
written.  After  the  return,  Ezra  brings  to  light 
(444  15.C.)  **  God's  Law  which  was  given  by  Moses." 
The  Psalms  and  Proverbs  are  gradually  collected 
together,  histories  and  prophecies  are  compiled 
and  written,  nobody  knows  by  whom.  The  apoc- 
ryphal books  follow,  and  the  book  of  latest  date  in 
the  Old  Testament  is  thought  to  be  Daniel.  (See 
**  The  Growth  of  the  Hebrew  Religion,"  by  W.  C. 
Gannett,  Unity  office,  Chicago.) 

The  author  of  "  Supernatural  Religion"  claims 
to  prove  the  spuriousness  of  the  Gospels.  The 
Oriental  origin  and  human  development  of  Chris- 
tianity are  shown  in  such  works  as  Clodd's  **  Child- 


THE  BIBLE  A  HUMAN  BOOK. 


121 


I 


J 


1 


i^ 


hood  of  Religions,"  Johnson's  •*  Oriental  Religions," 
and  Max  Mullen's  "  Oricrin  and  Growth  of  Reliir- 
ion."  All  the  Christian  dogmas  are  found  in  pre- 
vious creeds  in  Egypt,  Persia,  and  India,  or  in  clas- 
sic mythology.  The  miraculous-conception  dogma 
was  common  among  the  ancients.  Romulus  was 
the  son  of  Mars  ;  Plato,  of  Apollo  ;  Alexander,  of 
Jupiter  Amnion ;  Sosiosh,  the  Persian  saviour, 
was  born  of  a  virgin,  and  will  come  to  regenerate 
the  world,  preceded  by  two  prophets.  The  Per- 
sians taught  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  that 
the  good  will  inherit  the  earth,  and  Ahriman  and 
his  angels  will  be  purified  in  a  lake  of  molten 
metal.  One  author  says  :  "  Every  Christian  dog- 
ma has  its  origin  in  a  heathen  rite Chris- 
tian theology  is  only  a  potpourri  of  pagan  mythol- 
ogies." Renan  says,  "  Nearly  everything  in  Chris- 
tianity is  mere  baggage  brought  from  the  pagan 
mysteries."  The  coincidences  in  the  lives  and 
teachings  of  Jesus  and  Gautama  Buddha  have  been 
remarked  upon  by  many  writers.  Taylor  says, 
"  Everything  of  Christianity  is  of  Egyptian  orig- 
in." The  fables  of  India  and  Persia  were  brought 
to  Egypt,  and  recast.  It  is  difficult  to  trace  the 
exact  origin  of  ideas,  and  learned  men  differ  in 
opinion  as  to  the  birthplace  of  some  dogmas,  but 
this  much  is  certain, — Bible  theology  was  not  an 
exclusive  revelation  to  the  Jews. 

Many  of  our  interpretations  of  Scripture  and 


; 


ltd  ' 


123 


7Wi<  KiSZ^  AV  FAITH. 


much  of  their  authority  rest  upon  the  assertions 
of  the  "Christian  Fathers."  If  any  one  would 
gain  a  true  estimate  of  the  value  of  the  testimony 
of  these  worthies,  let  him  read  of  their  lives  and 
writings  and  superstitions,  and  he  will  be  slow  to 
accept  their  dicta  about  "God's  Word."  If  one 
would  see  how  legends  originate  and  spread,  and 
see  a  plausible  suggestion  for  the  existence  of 
many  of  the  Bible  stories,  he  should  read  John 
Fiske's  "  IVIyths  and  Mythmakers,"  and  S.  Baring- 
Gould's  "  Curious  Myths  of  the  Middle  Ages"  and 
"  Legends  of  Patriarchs  and  Prophets." 

Modern  research  is  throwinc:  crrcat  Jieht  on  the 
manner  in  which  the  present  Bible  was  compiled. 
How  a  majority  of  one  in  a  council  of  "  Fathers'* 
could  make  one  book  the  infallible  word  of  God, 
and  a  larger  majority  condemn  another  to  be  the 
word  of  man,  is  a  mystery  which  it  needs  the  au- 
thority of  an  infallible  Church  to  make  one  be- 
lieve. Pappus,  in  his  "  Synodikon,"  says  all  the 
Gospels  were  put  under  the  communion  table,  and 
the  inspired  ones  got  up  on  the  table,  in  answer  to 
prayer.  Stanley,  in  his  "  Eastern  Church,**  alludes 
to  this  "  tradition."  But,  whether  this  story  is  true 
or  not,  can  it  be  that  God's  Word  has  been  left  by 
its  author  to  drift  about  the  world,  subject  to  hu- 
man alteration,  to  be  finally  rescued  from  a  mass 
of  literary  rubbish  by  a  council  of  men  in  a  dark 
and  superstitious  age  ?    This  is  not  God's  way,  or 


fr 


t 


I 


THE  BIBLE  A  IIUMAaW  BOOK. 


»23 


at  least  not  the  way  of  a  God  whom  this  Century 
can  worship. 

What  a  terrible  waste  of  intellect  there  is  in  the 
world,  arising  from  this  assertion,  that  the  Hible  is 
the  word  of  God  and  contains  a  harmonious  sys- 
tem of  final  truth  1  When  the  powers  that  are 
now  used  to  defend  theories  concerning  the  Script- 
ures are  directed  toward  positive  explorations  of 
nature's  secrets,  how  the  world  will  spring  for- 
ward !  When  theological  seminaries  become  sci- 
ence schools,  and  look  for  truth  in  living  facts, 
they  will  be  greater  boons  to  the  world. 

To  my  mind,  the  true  theory  of  the  Bible  is 
that,  on  the  principle  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest, 
the  best  and  most  helpful  writings  of  men  have 
been  preserved  ;  and  the  book  is  to  be  prized  as 
an  evidence  of  the  working  of  the  secret  power  of 
nature  in  men's  minds,  and  also  for  whatever  of 
truth  it  contains,  according  to  present  perceptions 
of  the  good.  It  is  the  bad  use  men  have  made, 
and  are  still  making,  of  the  Bible  that  has  done 
harm.  Interpreting  men's  sins  and  crude  ideas  as 
revelations  of  God's  mind  debases  man.  If  men 
now  find  the  Mosaic  beginning  and  the  Christian 
ending  of  the  world,  as  portrayed  in  the  Bible,  to 
be  opposed  by  science  and  sense,  is  It  not  more 
honoring  to  God  and  creditable  to  man  to  admit 
that  there  is  no  revelation  save  what  men  have 
slowly  and  painfully  learned  for  themselves  from 


Q| 


114 


7W.4  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


nature's  operations,  while  the  race  has  been  **  toil- 
ing upward  in  the  night "  of  ignorance  and  super- 
stition ?  One  rev^ilation  pervades  all  nature  ;  and* 
the  students  of  tnis  revelation  have  recorded  their 
observations  in  Bibles,  works  upon  natural  history, 
and  histories  of  man.  The  "  Books  of  Moses," 
Hume's,  Gibbon's,  and  Macaulay's  histories,  Hum- 
boldt's "  Cosmos"  and  Darwin's  "Origin  of  Spe- 
cies," contain  men's  perception  of  revealed  facts. 
The  Psalms  of  David,  Bryant,  and  Longfellow, 
the  Proverbs  of  Solomon,  ^^isop,  Cervantes,  and 
PVanklin,  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  Carlyle,  and 
Emerson, — all  contain  **  the  word  of  the  Lord  "  ; 
and  the  latest  is  the  truest  and  the  best,  because 
most  in  accord  with  known  facts  and  present 
needs. 


! 


^1 

•    « 

1 
\ 

\ 

HUMAN  IDEAS  OF  GOD. 

The  idea  of  God  has  gradually  developed  in  the 
human  mind  through  stages  corresponding  to  the 
intellectual  condition  of  the  race.  Graduating  from 
the  regions  of  fetich  ism  and  idolatry,  the  early  He- 
brew writers  conceived  of  God  as  a  powerful  being 
who,  by  the  might  of  his  word,  called  everything 
into  existence  ready-made  at  a  moment's  notice, 
and  controlled  current  events  by  direct  supervision. 
At  later  periods,  we  observe  changes  in  the  names 
and  nature  of  God.  Ewald  has  noted  distinctivii 
names  of  the  God  of  the  five  great  periods  of  the 
history  of  Israel.  He  was  Almighty  to  the  patri- 
archs, Jehovah  to  the  priests,  God  of  Hosts  to  the 
kings,  the  Holy  One  to  the  prophets,  and  Our  Lord 
to  Ji.daism.  We  see  an  increasing  approach  of 
God  to  man  from  the  Creator  to  the  Leader,  Rock, 
Fortress,  Helper,  until  he  is  known  as  the  Father. 
ii.  may  be  said  that  God  thus  revealed  himself  pro- 
gressively to  the  race,  but  it  is  harder  to  conceive 
of  an  omnipotent  ;mu1  omniscient  God  ^  >is  play- 
ing hide  and  seek  Wkth  his  creatures  tlian  r;  is  to 
believe  that  men  in  each  age  have  evidenced  the 
nature  and  extent  of  their  needs,  desires,  and  aspi- 
rations by  the  conception  they  have  formed  of  a 
supreme  being.     God  is  always  the  complement  of 


126 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH, 


I 


i 

•a. 
IS 


the  weakness  of  man.     What  man  consciously  lacks 
of  perfection  he  attributes  to  God. 

Down  through  the  Middle  Ages,  we  see  a  vary- 
ing God,  suiting  the  degree  of  light  and  darkness 
that  pervaded  the  mental  world.  The  Pur'^an 
made  a  stern  God  glorying  in  his  decrees,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  resolute  self-sacrificing  devotion 
to  the  view  of  truth  which  inspired  his  own  breast. 
And,  now,  Moody  and  his  kindred  evangelists  are 
proclaiming  the  God  of  whom  they  have  learned 
from  the  English  "  Brethren," — a  God  of  love,  his 
attribute  of  vengeance  softened  to  Justice,  and  all 
his  characteristics  put  into  a  nineteenth-century 
dress.  The  Brethren  evangelists  have  flocked  over 
to  America  for  fifteen  years  past,  making  the  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  their  rallying  points  ; 
and,  telling  their  ardent  disciples  that  they  were 
•'  living  by  faith,"  their  needs  have  been  bountifully 
supplied  by  voluntary  contributions  **  from  the 
Lord."  Through  preaching  services  and  Bible 
readings  and  the  circulation  of  their  literature,  they 
have  widely  indoctrinated  the  associations  and 
churches  with  the  truths  of  a  full  and  free  atone- 
ment, assurance  of  salvation,  the  presence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  the  pre-millennial  advent  of  Christ. 
They  have  been  mostly  gootl  men,  and  have  sub- 
stituted a  better  and  more  Scriptural  theology  for 
that  of  the  Nev/  England  churches  of  the  previous 
half-century.       Moody's    preaching    only    became 


ill 


i 


HUMAN  IDEAS  OF  GOD. 


127 


noted  and  effective  after  he  had  been  Indoctrinated 
by  Needham  and  Moorhouse.  When  you  find  an 
evangelist  gaining  converts  by  exposition  of  the 
Scriptures,  not  by  sensationalism,  you  will  usually 
discover  the  theology  of  the  Plymouth  Brethren  as 
the  inspiring  influence.  Their  doctrines  about 
prophecy  prevail  widely  in  the  Church  of  England, 
and  are  spreading  through  the  various  sects  of 
America.  Their  missionaries  are  all  over  the  world, 
living  by  faith  and  preaching  a  "  pure  gospel,"  the 
needs  of  many  being  *' supplied  by  the  Lord," 
through  George  Muller,  of  Hristol. 

My  father  came  under  these  influences  in  his 
later  years,  and  preached  a  sermon  called  '•  The 
Free  Gift,"  which  was  considered  such  a  contrast 
to  the  "  hyper-Calvinism "  which  had  previously- 
characterized  his  preaching  that  it  was  printed  and 
widely  circulated  by  an  enthusiastic  parishioner 
who  held  the  Brethren's  theology.  He  afterward 
said  to  me  on  a  voyage  at  sea,  "If  I  could  live  my 
life  ovci  again,  how  differently  I  would  preach!" 
He  sa^J  he  had  proclaimed  too  much  \\\i\  terrors  of 
the  law,  ai:d  alluded  to  certain  good  lady  parish- 
ioners who  had  lived  and  died  in  gloom,  feeling 
that  they  were  lost  sinners,  as  they  felt  no  evidence 
that  they  belonged  to  the  number  of  the  elect.  He 
said  he  had  not  made  the  gospel  free  enough.  The 
s<:rmons  in  his  volume,  "At  Eventide,"  were  writ- 
ten: :*t  ui\\s  period,  and  breathe  a  milder  spirit  than 


128 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


-J 


II    1  g 

■i 


those  of  his  earlier  miniatry.     His  God  changed 
as  his  mind  mellowed. 

If  individual  Christians  are  now  questioned  about 
God,  it  will  be  seen  that  quite  different  beings  are 
worshipped  under  that  name:  each  man  creating 
his  own  mental  image  of  the  deity  whom  he  loves, 
fears,  or  adores.  We  set  up  a  standard  and  try  to 
attain  to  it,  and  we  call  that  standard  God.  One 
beauty  of  the  Bible  is  that,  •  Jp't;"  written  by  men 
of  varied  capacity  in  differenl  ;  .  >,  there  are  cor- 
respondingly var  ed  views  of  God's  nature,  so  that 
different  temperaments  will  find  something  to  suit 
their  phases  of  mind.  If  God  had  written  the  book, 
it  would  have  been  consistent ;  and  there  would 
have  been  a  pattern  deity  revealed,  who,  while  more 
noble  in  design  and  elevating  in  influence,  would 
not  have  been  so  comforting  to  imperfect  creatures 
who  enjoy  a  God  '*  after  their  own  hearts."  The 
Delphic  Oracle  said,  "  The  best  religion  is  that  of 
a  man's  own  city." 

Now  comes  science,  and  asserts  that  nothing  has 
been  made  oil  at  once,  and  that  all  the  facts  of 
creation  are  or  will  be  accounted  for  by  the  theory 
of  the  evolution  of  matter.  Everything  now  and 
in  the  past  has  grown  or  developed  by  slow  stages 
from  simpler  forms,  in  accordance  with  laws  which 
are  just  beginning  to  be  clearly  understood.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  the  "act  of  God,"  as  that  term 
has  usually  been    understood ;    but    every  event, 


HUMAN  IDEAS  OF  GOD. 


129 


from  the  lightnin<^'s  stroke  to  the  moscjuito's  sting, 
is  traceable  to  the  workings  of  law.  God  never  in- 
.terferes  by  miracles  or  special  providences,  and  it 
is  only  our  ignorant  and  sluggish  minds  that  seek 
such  a  solution  for  our  baflled  investigations  into 
the  subtle  laws  of  nature.  It  is  convenient  to  say 
**God  did  it,"  when  we  cannot  explain  a  matter. 
Where  knowledge  ends  God  begins. 

Some  call  this  great  law  and  force  God,  and 
rightly  consider  that  it  is  a  far  loftier  conception, 
to  think  of  the  Being  who  could  originate  matter 
and  endow  it  with  the  properties  of  evolution,  so 
that  for  ages  it  could  work  on  without  a  single  act 
of  interference,  and  produce  the  wonderful  diver- 
sity we  now  behold  in  nature,  working  in  never- 
failing  precision,  than  it  is  to  enthrone  one  as  the 
Supreme  Being,  who,  like  a  necromancer,  calls  up 
what  he  wants  upon  emergencies ;  who  takes  a 
notion  to  have  a  new  kind  of  butterlly,  and  makes 
it  on  the- spot ;  who  causes  a  profane  man  to  step 
on  a  bit  of  orange  peel  and  break  his  leg,  and 
sends  a  tornado  to  an  infidel  village.  These  tell 
us  we  can  know  nothing  of  God  beyond  the  reve- 
lation of  his  works,  and  must  content  ourselves 
with  the  investigation  of  secondary  causes. 

Others,  having  traced  all  the  variations  of  mat- 
ter back  to  a  single  atom,  and  believing  that  every 
form  it  has  assumed  can  be  accounted  for  by  the 
workings  of  natural  law,  are  averse  to  calling  in 


130 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


% 


i 


the  supernatural  even  here,  and  think  that  quali- 
ties inherent  in  matter  may  have  initiated  the  first 
movements  which  have  led  to  *'  differentiation." 
This  leaves  only  the  origin  of  matter  to  be  ac- 
counted for,  and  some  are  daring  enough  to  be- 
lieve that  the  intellect  of  man  will  yet  solve  this 
problem.  They  claim  that,  as  the  most  complex 
organism  can  be  traced  back  to  the  simple  cell,  so 
the  profoundest  operations  of  the  mind  are  the 
result  of  an  unbroken  ascent  from  the  first  in- 
stinctive effort  of  the  lowest  animalcule  to  propa- 
gate its  species  or  obtain  food,  and  this  gradual 
development  of  mind  can  be  followed  through  all 
the  animal  kingdom  up  to  n.a  i,  the  difference  be- 
tween the  mental  operations  of  man  and  animals 
being  differences  of  degree,  not  of  quality.  The 
ant,  the  horse,  and  the  dog  think  the  same  kind  of 
thoughts  that  men  do,  as  far  as  their  range  of 
thought  extends.  The  operations  of  mind  are 
foun(^  to  depend  entirely  upon  physical  organs, 
and  can  be  suspended  or  altered  by  changes  in  the 
conditions  of  those  organs.  Anatomists  and  phys- 
iologists find  a  correspondence  between  the  brain, 
the  contour  of  the  head,  and  the  meiital  faculties, 
so  that  a  man's  or  animal's  mental  powers  and 
characteristics  can  be  predicated  from  his  physical 
formation.  This  chain  of  sequence  is  so  well 
traced  that  it  is  made  clear  that  the  link  between 
the  briehtest   doir   and    the   lowest    Hottentot   is 


HUMAN  IDEAS  OF  GOD. 


»3» 


I 


closer  than  that  between  a  Hottentot  and  a  New- 
ton.    Wallace  remarks  that  the  faculties  exercised 
by  savages  are  very  little  above  those  of  the  ani- 
mals.    If  mind,  therefore,  can  be  followed  down  to 
the  first  instinctive  motions  of  the  earliest  forms  of 
matter,  and  is  proved  to  depend  on  the  organism, 
may  it  not  yet  be  shown  that  the  first  motion  that 
signifies    intelligence    is   as   truly   a   development 
from  the  inherent  nature  of  matter  as  is  the  growth 
of  the  structure  ?     The  assumption  that  there  is  an 
eternal  distinction  between  mind  and  matter,  and 
that  it  was  necessary  at  some  point  for  a  God  to 
step  in  and  conjure  the  principle  of  mind  into  mat- 
ter, would  thus  be  shown  to  be  false  by  the  proof 
of  the  theory  that  matter  has  always  possessed  the 
principle  of  determining  its  actions  which  we  call 
mind.     May  not  mind  be  traced  as  truly  in  the 
vegetable  world  ?     When  plants  catch  and  devour 
insects,  reach  out  tendrils  toward  supports,  close 
their  fiowers  in  the  shade  or  at  the  approach  or 
touch  of  a  person,  may  it  not  be  called  an  opera- 
tion of  mind,  as  truly  as  when  n  dog  answers  the 
dinner  bell  or  a  man  opens  an  umbrella  when  it 
rains  ? 

Thus  there  is  a  mind  or  soul  in  all  nature,  and  it 
IS  so  connected  with  and  inseparable  from  the  c.t- 
ward  form  that  they  may  be  considered  one,  the 
mind,  the  later  manifestation,  being  an  inherent 
property  of  matter  from  its  first  existence. 


132 


TRAVELS  W  FAITH. 


Si 
3b 


These  facts  and  theories  either  place  God  away 
back  at  the  beginning  of  all  things,  and  then  leave 
the  puzzle  of  his  existence  to  be  accounted  for,  or, 
ignoring  any  idea  of  a  personal  God,  they  consider 
the  existence  of  matter  as  the  only  mystery  to 
which  we  have  not  found  a  hopeful  key.     Nothing 
is  arbitrary  in  the  action  of  nature,  implying  an 
exceptional  discrimination.     As  a  general  rule,  the 
good  and  the  bad  reap  the  results  of  their  acts  in 
the  long  run.     Just  so  many  accidents  of  a  given 
kind  occur  during  certain  periods  under   similar 
circumstances.      The  number  of  suicides  in  Lon- 
don in  each  decade  and  the  number  of  mis-directed 
letters    in    certain    periods    is    about    the    same. 
There  is  no  event  in  the  world  of  mind  or  matter 
which  it  is  not  easier  to  account  for  as  the  result 
of  natural  consequences  than  as  being  the  direct 
act  in  each  case  of  a  superintending  God.     The 
blast  of  lightning  from  a  clear  sky,  which  struck 
twenty  men  resting  under  an  oak-tree,  was  not  spe- 
cially directed  by  a  God  with  reference  to  those 
men.     But  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  natural  law 
could  show  a  chain  of  causes  extending  back  for 
ages,  which  required  that  flash  to  gleam  and  that  it^ 
should  strike  that  tree ;  and  laborers  are  apt  to  rest 
under  trees  at  noon  in  hot  weather.     As  the  mind 
revolts  from  the  idea  of  a  God  who  deliberately  or- 
dains some  men  to  eternal  life  of  his  own  free  will 
and  leaves  others  to  perish,  so  it  rejects  the  thought 


HUMAN  IDEAS  OF  GOD. 


133 


\ 


I 


of  a  being  who  consciously  distributes  the  accidents 
and  ills  of  life,  and  orders  the  daily  warfare  and 
destruction  which  pervades  all  o.ders  of  nature. 

If,  then,  it  can  be  shown  that  all  the  present 
forms  of  existence  maybe  accounted  for  by  natural 
laws,  reason  obliges  us  to  prefer  this  theory  to  that 
of  the  special  creation  of  the  various  orders  of  life 
by  the  magical  word  of  a  Supreme  Being.  Man's 
ignorance  has  always  taken  refuge  in  the  act  of 
God  as  an  explanation  of  what  could  not  be  under- 
stood. God  was  supposed  to  cause  cholera,  plague, 
and  small-pox  by  direct  exercise  of  his  will,  until 
the  germ  theory  of  disease  showed  that  these  ca- 
lamities could  be  accounted  for  by  natural  laws. 
God  made  the  lightning,  in  popular  estimation,  till 
Franklin  flew  his  kite  and  brought  it  down  from 
heaven  to  the  realm  of  nature.  God  caused  storms, 
rains,  and  droughts,  till  the  science  of  meteorology 
showed  the  power  of  natural  causes  to  produce  these 
effects,  and  foretold  their  occurrence.  So,  in  earlier 
ages,  the  mysteries  of  life  were  conveniently  refer- 
red to  God  ;  but,  now,  we  see  the  laws  of  nature 
satisfactorily  explaining  all  the  facts  of  existing 
forms,  and  we  only  refer  back  to  God  the  origin  of 
matter  and  force.  This  is  merely  saying  that  as 
yet  we  are  ignorant  of  the  first  cause  of  all  exist- 
ence ;  but,  having  resolved  so  many  of  the  acts  of 
God  into  intelligible  processes  of  nature,  does  not 
analogy  suggest  that  what  is  still  unknown  may 


«34 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


f 


I 

lie 

o 

2s 


yet  be  discovered  by  the  advancing  mind  and  un- 
ceasing investigation  of  man?  Thus  there  is  no 
**  unknowable,"  and  no  limits  need  be  placed  upon 
man's  mental  progress,  nor  need  any  barriers  be 
raised  to  stop  his  researches. 

It  is  imprudent  to  express  a  decided  opinion 
upon  these  theories  about  God,  upon  which  the 
wisest  of  men  are  at  variance.  None  of  them  solve 
the  great  mystery  of  existence.  We  are  all  grop- 
ing through  the  dim  day-dawn  toward  God,  if, 
haply,  we  may  find  him.  My  only  object  in  writ- 
injr  is  to  show  that  the  ideas  of  God  in  the  Bible 
are  human  conceptions,  just  as  are  the  ideas  of  the- 
ologians and  philosophers  of  to-day.  They  are  not 
authoritative  ;  but  they  are  instructive,  and  show 
an  orderly  progression  which  ranks  them  among 
the  evidences  which  pervade  all  orders  of  nature 
of  a  development  through  which  an  inscrutable 
force,  or  **  God,"  is  working. 

Many,  from  policy  or  conviction,  are  making  a 
.compromise  with  Christianity  as  to  belief  in  God, 
and  thus  avoid  an  open  rupture.  They  say,  in  the 
words  of  an  intelligent  scientist,  "  The  mind  with 
its  yearnings  for  and  capabilities  of  religion  is  as 
much  a  part  of  nature  as  are  the  objects  we  may 
handle  with  our  fingers ;  and  the  moral  education 
of  mankind  has  as  much  followed  the  lines  of  de- 
velopment, which  the  survival  of  the  fittest  de- 
mands, as  has  the  physical  advance  of  structural 


HUMAN  IDEAS  OF  GOD, 


'35 


forms.  Viewed  in  that  light,  the  history  of  the 
human  race,  whether  drawn  from  sacred  or  pro- 
fane sources,  is  a  history  of  the  evohition  and  atl- 
vance  of  moral  sentiments."  But  they  go  on  to 
call  the  manifestation  of  this  growth  in  the  Bible 
a  "revelation,"  and  the  principle,  unknown  and 
inscrutable,  which  thus  works  for  good  or  "  makes 
for  righteousness,"  they  call  "  God  " ;  and  thus  they 
retain  their  status  among  Christians  as  believers. 
This  is  a  use  of  terms  in  a  sense  entirely  different 
from  their  general  acceptation.  In  this  way,  most 
rationalists  believe  as  truly  in  God  and  revelation 
as  they  do;  and  I  know  honored  men  among  Chris- 
tians, who  practically  think  as  I  do,  who,  by  this 
accommodation  of  old  phrases  to  their  new  ideas, 
are  still  accounted  orthodox,  and  are  held  up  to 
me  as  examples  of  the  agreement  of  science  and 
faith.  The  God  of  evolution  is  not  God,  as  men 
in  the  Christian  Church  understand  the  name  ;  and, 
when  they  call  the  Bible  a  revelation,  they  believe 
it  is  the  direct,  authoritative,  and  final  word  of  God, 
communicated  in  a  miraculous  manner  to  man, — 
not  that  it  shows  how  men  have  gradually  grown 
in  religious  knowledge,  and  is,  therefore,  ^  revela- 
tion to  us.  For  the  present,  it  seems  wise  and  hon- 
est not  to  use  the  old  phraseology,  until  men  cease 
to  misapprehend  the  inte  .tion  and  infer  agreement 
with  their  own  supernatural  ideas.  In  this  sense, 
the  Unitarian  use  of  the  terms,  "Our  Lord  and 


rm 


136 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


I 


^ 


Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,"  '*  Our  Divine  Master,"  while 
they  utterly  deny  his  deity  and  atonement  in  the 
orthodox  sense,  appears  inconsistent  and  injurious 
to  the  progress  of  the  demolition  of  superstition. 

True  freedom  of  speech  will  not  be  attained  until 
men  can  be  permitted  to  express  their  ideas  about 
God  as  freely  as  their  notions  about  geology.  The 
First  Cause  is  as  legitimate  an  object  of  research 
as  is  electricity.  The  loftiest  intellects  of  this  age, 
who  have  gained  conceptions  of  the  Infinite  Power 
as  far  above  the  Hebrew  notions  of  Jehovah  as  are 
their  differing  ideas  about  astronomy,  are  liable  to 
prosecution  by  some  anti-blasphemy  club,  com- 
posed of  men  who  believe  that  God  has  revealed 
nothing  about  himself  for  eighteen  hundred  years, 
and  who  accept  as  final  the  ideas  of  deity  enter- 
tained by  men  whose  opinions  upon  almost  every 
other  subject  they  despise.  In  their  minds,  to 
agree  with  the  ancients  in  any  of  their  opinions 
about  nature  is  to  show  an  ignorance  and  stupid- 
ity that  is  beneath  contempt ;  but  to  differ  from 
the  ancients  in  their  estimate  of  the  greatest  of 
all  myster  ies  is  blasphemy. 

To  sum  up,  in  a  few  words,  the  main  truths  I 
desire  to  impress,  I  would  say  :  The  Bible,  like 
all  other  books,  is  the  product  of  men's  minds.  All 
ideas  about  God  and  the  various  doctrines  of  re- 
ligion are  likewise  the  products  of  men's  minds. 
There  has  never  been  a  revelation  by  God  to  man 


HUMAX  IDEAS  OF  GOD. 


•37 


of  final  truth,  g'ven  directly  and  all  at  once,  either 
by  word  or  vision.  Hut  all  human  ideas  of  relig- 
ion are  the  result  of  a  prog^ressive  development  of 
man's  mind,  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  evolu- 
tion which  pervade  the  universe,  through  which  all 
growth  in  nature  and  all  progress  in  man  are  pro- 
moted by  the  working  of  what  men  variously  call 
^*the  inscrutable  force,"  "eternal  matter,"  "the 
great  first  cause,"  "  the  eternal  and  infinite  spirit," 
*^  the  Almighty  Godr 


PRAYER. 


UJ 

::> 

Oct 


If  all  events  are  the  effects  of  preceding  causes^ 
and  God,  the  supreme  power  in  the  universe,  acts 
only  through  natural  laws,  prayer  in  the  form  of 
petition  is  irrational  and  useless,  unless  it  can  be 
proved  that  prayer  is  a  natural  force. 

Upon  the  orthodox  ideas  of  God,  petition  to 
him  to  vary  the  succession  of  causes  and  effect  is 
unreasonable  and  wronij.  It  is  askinjjf  for  bless- 
ing  v/hich  involves  suffering  to  others.  The  sailor 
who  prays  for  a  fair  wind  really  asks  that  other 
b;ulors,  equally  deserving  of  prosperity,  may  have 
a  head  wind  ;  and  supposing  that  sailors  pray, 
God  is  daily  besought  that  the  wind  may  blow 
from  every  point  of  the  comp;.>ss.  How  can  he 
grant  any  of  these  petitions  without  injustice,  even 
if  the  direction  of  the  wind  was  not  determined  by 
natural  laws  which  God  has  never  interrupted  ? 
The  Hour  merchant,  praying  for  a  rising  market, 
asks  God  to  do  that  which  will  make  the  laborer 
pay  more  for  his  bread.  The  laborer  prays  for 
cheap  Hour.  How  can  God  answer  both  prayers? 
The  prosperity  of  one  often  means  the  adversity 
of  another,  the  success  of  one  the  disappointment 
of  his  perhaps  equally  deserving  fellow.  How  can 
a  just   God  discriminate  w   the  bestowal  of  an- 


*i 


I 


PR  A  YEK, 


'39 


.   v 


swers  ?  We  narrate  deliverance  from  sliipwreck 
and  accident  in  answer  to  prayer ;  but  an  honest 
consistency  would  oblige  us  to  tell  of  shipwrecks 
in  answer  to  prayer,  and  of  misfortunes  traceable 
to  the  following  of  "indications  of  Providence" 
succeeding  prayer.  Jesus  had  a  wise  conception 
of  the  limitations  of  prayer.  The  Lord's  Prayer 
deals  largely  with  desires  for  God's  giory  and 
man's  moral  improvement,  its  only  material  re- 
quest being  for  daily  bread,  which  every  one 
would  seem  to  have  a  natural  right  to  possess. 
But  it  is  more  rational  to  work  for  it  than  to  pray 
for  it :  and  that  this  is  the  more  effective  course  is 
proved  by  the  popular  proverb,  "  God  helps  those 
who  help  themselves." 

Prayer  is  not  only  usually  futile,  but  it  is  often 
injurious.  It  concentrates  the  mind  upon  itself 
and  promotes  selfishness.  The  calm  of  the  even- 
ing subdues  the  throbbing  brain  of  the  business 
man  ;  but,  as  he  kneels  by  his  bedside  to  pray,  all 
the  desires  connected  with  his  unfinished  schemes 
are  aroused,  he  often  changes  prayer  into  a  re- 
newal of  his  schemings,  and,  in  utter  forgetful- 
ness  of  his  purpose,  calls  back  the  trials  and  dif- 
ficulties of  the  day,  and  his  excited  brain  defers 
the  approach  of  sleep.  To  some  temperaments, 
the  prayerless  pillow  bririgs  the  sweetest  sleep. 
Prayer  leads  to  trusting  to  God  what  should  be 
sought  by  our  own  efforts      A  landlady  was  over- 


140 


TRA  VEIS  IN  FAITH. 


% 
I 


heard  to  pray  imploringly  that  God  would  fill  her 
house  with  boarders  and  blrss  her  dog  "  Gypsy  "  ; 
but  she  left  her  room  and  scolded  so  much  at  her 
servants  that  her  boarders  left  her ;  and  she  stuff- 
ed her  dog  into  an  apoplectic  condition.  Prayer 
has  been  the  resort  of  laziness,  and  has  often 
paralyzed  efforts  and  lost  the  attainment  of  de- 
sires, while  the  devout  person  was  "  waiting  on  the 
Lord"  instead  of  using  his  best  efforts  for  himself. 
Prayer  has  an  even  chance  of  being  answered  or 
of  failing,  except  that  we  usually  pray  for  what  is. 
unlikely  to  happen.  Most  of  the  reputed  answers 
to  prayer  are  just  this  chance  of  having  desire  cor- 
respond to  natural  results.  But  there  are  some 
cases  where  prayer  has  really  produced  effects  by 
its  reflex  inlluence  :  the  will  and  faith  of  the  de- 
votee have  affected  the  nervous  onjfanism  and 
produced  the  desired  result.  The  effect  follows 
prayer  to  demons  in  Asia,  to  the  Virgin  and  saints 
in  Europe,  and  to  Christ  in  Anif^rica,  and  is  there- 
fore purely  the  action  of  physical  laws.  The  shak- 
ing of  the  Joss-sticks  in  China,  the  whirling  of  the 
prayer-wheel  in  Burmah,  the  seven  daily  prostra- 
tions of  the  Mussulman,  the  counting  of  beads 
in  Rome,  and  the  prayer-meetings  of  Protestants, 
are  alike  in  their  measure  of  success  or  failure. 
Dr.  Hammond,  in  the  lutLrnaiional  Revicio  for 
March,  1881,  in  a  valuable  article  upon  this  sub- 
ject, describes  a  cure  effected  by  Croton  water,  la- 


mni 


i  I   ' 


PR  A  YEK. 


141 


belled  •'  Lourdes  Water,"  after  genuine  Lourdes 
water  labelled  Croton  had  failed  to  produce  effect, 
proving  that  the  power  lay  in  the  imagination. 

Perhaps,  it  nr\y  be  found  that  prayer  is  some- 
times effectual  in  another  way.  One  or  more  per- 
sons sometimes  "  will "  that  another  shall  do  cer- 
tain things,  and  the  acts  arc  performed.  This  is 
believed  to  be  a  **  psychological "  influence ;  which 
only  means  that  it  is  produced  by  a  natural  force 
that  as  yet  we  know  but  little  of.  In  the  N^inc- 
icenth  Century  {ox  June,  1882,  an  article  entitled 
"Thought  Reading"  gives  most  interesting  facts 
of  this  character,  with  suggestions  of  explanation  ; 
and  the  editor  adds  a  note  containing  a  theory 
that  "brain-waves"  are  produced  by  mental  ef- 
forts, and  sometimes  affect  others  at  a  distance 
with  a  consciousness  of  the  thoui^ht  that  caused 
them.  Many  visions,  apparitions,  and  impressions 
would  be  explained  by  this  theory,  if  it  could  be 
established.  A  man  in  a  prayer-meeting  felt  an 
intense  impulse  to  give  a  stranger  five  dollars. 
He  did  so  with  great  diffidence,  and  learned  that 
the  stranger  had  been  praying  throughout  the 
meeting  for  that  sum,  in  order  to  bestow  it  upon  a 
distressed  person.  This  was  narrated  as  an  an- 
swer to  prayer,  and  so  it  was.  Hut,  instead  of  its 
being  the  direct  action  of  the  Being  invoked,  is  it 
not  as  well  or  better  explained  by  the  supposition 
that  an    intense  desire  may  sometimes   intluence 


142 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


the  mind  of  another  person,  or  even  affect  natural 
forces  in  other  ways,  and  thus  produce  the  answer? 
If  so,  it  is  the  feeling,  and  not  the  petition  to 
God,  which  has  brought  about  the  result.  Princi- 
pal Dawson,  in  his  latest  work,  **  Facts  and  Fan- 
cies in  Modern  Scie^c(^"  says,  '*  The  bleat  of  the 
lamb  will  not  only  meet  with  response  from  the 
mother  ewe,  but  will  even  exercise  a  physiological 
effect  in  promoting  the  secretion  of  milk  in  her 
udder.  ...  In  the  case  of  animals  there  must  be 
a  certain  relation  between  the  one  that  prays  and 
the  one  that  answers."  He  argues  for  prayer  to 
God,  but  such  facts  better  illustrate  the  effects  of 
desire  upon  natural  resources. 

When  men  become  i^ood  and  wise  enoucjh  to 
'•  will  "  with  benefit  to  themselves  and  others,  we 
may  find  that  the  power  of  nature  to  produce  re- 
sults has  also  enlarged,  and  it  may  be  found  that 
the  instinct  of  prayer  was  a  dawning  conception 
of  a  grand  force  to  become  available  for  man's  use 
in  a  more  developed  state.  As  people  meet  now 
in  a  circle  to  **  will  "  that  a  table  shall  move,  the 
prayer-meeting  will  perhaps  be  succeeded  by  a 
gathering  of  intelligent  persons  who  shall  effectu- 
ally "  will  "  for  results  more  useful  to  man,  in  cer- 
tain directions  where  the  possibility  of  success  has 
been  scientifically  determined. 

Meantime,  the  area  of  prayer  will  gradually  be 
narrowed,  as  men  learn  to  trace  results  to  natural 


i 


rKAVK/i. 


M3 


causes.  They  cease  to  ask  God  for  thinirs  as  fast 
as  they  learn  nature's  laws.  No  one  prays  that 
the  sun  may  rise  or  that  the  seasons  may  change  ; 
and  men  are  ceasing  to  pray  for  rain  and  wind  and 
all  other  events,  in  proportion  as  they  see  that  they 
are  as  inevitable  as  the  sunrise,  or  else  can  be  di- 
rected by  their  own  knowledge. 

But  many  rationalists,  either  from  early  habit  or 
inherited  impulse,  while  abandoning  direct  peti- 
tion to  God  for  specific  material  needs,  delight  in 
prayer  as  communion  with  the  Power  and  Good- 
ness which  they  perceive  in  nature,  which  they  in 
a  measure  personify  as  God,  and  toward  which  or 
whom  their  spirit  of  thankfulness  and  wonder  is 
outpoured.  This  it  is  not  intended  to  criticise. 
The  remarks  made  apply  only  io  pctitional  prayer. 
Worship  of  God  can  do  good  only  as  it  elevates 
the  mental  faculties  to  aspire  toward  a  superior 
conception.  Reverence  for  the  powers  of  nature 
and  an  enthusiasm  for  the  progress  of  humanity 
may  produce  as  good  effects  upon  the  mind,  and 
may  lead  to  better  results  for  the  world. 


MORALITY. 


r 


I 


< 


It  is  asked,  If  you  take  away  the  doctrine  of  the 
inspiration  and  infallible  authority  of  the  Bible, 
what  foundation  is  left  for  morality?  Those  who 
ask  the  question  believe  that  the  Bible  has  created 
religion,  instead  of  religion  havingr  made  the  Bible  ; 
and  that  morality  springs  from  the  ten  command- 
ments, instead  of  the  commandments  being  the  ex- 
pression of  human  morality.  Morality  is  the  re- 
sult of  experience.  That  conduct  which  men  have 
found  to  produce  the  best  results  has  been  incul- 
cated by  maxims  which  superstition  ascribes  to  the 
finger  of  God  upon  stone  tablets.  The  experience 
of  ages  is  compressed  into  the  Golden  Rule,  of 
which,  when  quoted  by  Christ,  it  is  said,  **  For  this 
is  the  law  and  the  prophets"  (Matt,  vii.,  12);  and 
Moses  gives  the  precept,  *'  Thou  shalt  Icve  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself."  This  rule  and  most  of  the 
maxims  ascribed  to  Christ  are  found  in  writings 
centuries  before  he  lived,  and  are  the  inheritance 
of  the  ages,  needing  no  thunders  of  Sinai  nor  suf- 
ferings of  Calvary  to  give  them  authority. 

Thales,  about  600  n.c,  said,  "Avoid  doing  what 
you  would  blame  others  for  doing." 

Pittacus,  one  of  the  seven  wise  men  of  Greece, 
about  570  RC,  said,   "Avoid  doing  that  to  your 


.) 


MORALITY. 


MS 


neighbor  which  you  would  take  amiss  if  he  did  it 
to  you." 

Confucius,  the  Chinese  sage,  500  ii.c.,  said : 
"  What  you  do  not  want  done  to  yourself  do  not 
do  to  others." 

To    one  who  has    been    accustomed  to    regard 
Jesus  as  the  author  of  our  present  morality,  it  is 
instructive  to  read  the  maxims  of  the  ancient  phi- 
losophers of  Greece  and  Rome  and  the  teachers  of 
Persia  and  India.     Jesus  summarized  the  morality 
of  the  past.     If  the  Golden  Rule  be  expressed  in 
these  words.  Whatsoever  ye  would  that  men  should 
do  to  you  and  yours,  do  ye  even  so  to  them  and 
theirs,  it  seems  impossible  to  imagine  a  relation  in 
life  to  which  it  would  not  apply  sufficient  guidance 
and  restraint.     It  teaches  us  to  treat  a  man   and 
his  wife,  sister,  daughter,  house,  property,  cow,  dog, 
as  we  feel  it  would  l)e  rii/ht  that  a  man  should  treat 
us  and  ours,  and  to  set  the  example  in  speech,  dress, 
and  behavior  we  wish  him  to  set.     By  this  simple 
rule,  we  are  thrown  upon  our  conscience,  and  are 
relieved  of  all  the  burden  of  an  immense  code  of 
maxims,  which  by  their  conllicting  and  unbending 
letter  often  destroy  the  spirit  of  morality.     Educa- 
tion, which  secures  an  enlightened  conscience,  will 
enable  men  to  apply  this  rule  rightly  ;  and  morality 
will  not  only  stand,  but  grow  purer  and  gain  in  uni- 
versality, even  though  the  Bible  takes  its  rightful 
place  among  human  compilations  of  man's  deeds 


10 


146 


TKAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


u 


t' 


and  thoughts.  As  Christ  deh'vered  his  disciples 
from  a  yoke  of  ceremonials,  which  neither  they  nor 
their  fathers  **  were  able  to  bear,"  so  modern  criti- 
cism delivers  men  from  the  bondage  of  a  multitude 
of  rules  which  they  call  the  word  of  God,  but  ha- 
bitually violate,  and  leaves  them  with  this  grand 
*'  law  of  love  "  as  the  simple  but  effective  guide. 

The  liberty  which  the  Golden  Rule  gives  is  well 
expressed  in  the  words  of  Herbert  Spencer,  in  "So- 
cial Statics  "  :  •'  Every  man  has  freedom  to  do  all 
that  he  will,  provided  he  infringes  not  the  equal 
frt;edom  of  any  other  man  " ;  and  its  restraints  may 
be  summed  up  in  the  words  of  Lecky,  in  his  "  His- 
tory of  luiropean  Morals":  *•  Man  must  abstain 
from  whatever  injures  happiness  or  degrades  char- 
act(;r." 

Men  will  be  more  moral  when  they  learn  that 
morality  does  not  rest  for  its  authority  upon  arbi- 
trary edicts  thundered  from  the  skies,  but  that  its 
foundation  is  the  experience  of  mankind  as  to  what 
is  l)i!st  for  man.  Now,  some  men  abstain  from  evil 
because  they  say  God  forbids  it,  or  they  do  good 
because  it  is  conuuamled  so  to  do ;  but,  when  they 
learn  to  choose  the  good  for  its  own  sake,  they  will 
lose  the  sense  of  bonilage  which  imbues  virtue 
with  the  idea  of  self-sacrifice,  and  they  will  find,  as 
Herbert  Spencer  says  in  the  "Data  of  Ethics," 
that  "  the  good  is  universally  the  pleasurable.  Con- 
duct is  good  or  l)ad  as  its  results  to  self  or  others 


: 


I 


MORALITY. 


147 


is  pleasurable  or  painful :  the  need  for  command- 
ments from  God  disappears."  He  also  remarks : 
"In  the  improved  state  of  society  there  will  be  less 
self-sacrifice  in  helpin<^  others,  and  it  will  become 
pleasure.  .  .  ;  Great  miseries  are  caused  by  per- 
severinji;  in  actions  repufjnant  to  the  sensations,  and 
neglectinf^  actions  which  the  sensations  prompt." 

We  may  with  hope  look  forward  to  a  day  when 
men  will  instinctiv"^'  ^ncl  from  pleasurable  motives 
**  refuse  the  evil  ana  choose  the<;ood,"  though  this 
will  be  attained  to  neither  by  eatin<j^  *'  butter  and 
honey  "  (Isaiah  vii.,  15)  nor  by  slavish  obedience, 
but  by  enlightened  study  of  the  laws  of  man's  nat- 
ure. But  men  are  not  yet  all  susceptible  of  con- 
trol by  moral  suasion  or  *'  the  enthusiasm  of  hu- 
manity"; and  other  restraints  and  impulses  may 
still  be  necessary,  as  the  "  edicts  of  God  "  have  been 
in  the  past.  Morality  must  become  approved  to 
self-interest  as  well  as  to  benevolence.  Men  must 
realize  that  it  "pays  better"  to  be  good,  but  "  the 
prosperity  of  the  wicked  "  now  weakens  this  con- 
viction. Some  indeed  see  but  little  advancement 
in  the  goodness  of  mankind,  and  are  disposed  to 
agree  with  Buckle  that  man  only  improves  intellect- 
ually, not  morally.  A  great  impetus  has  been 
given  to  improvement  in  every  other  department 
of  life,  but  some  think  there  is  not  a  corresponding 
advancement  in  morals.  Even  in  the  Church, 
where  morality  is  believed  to  have  made  its  highest 


M8 


TRAVHLS  IN  tAJTU. 


f 


§ 

I.     P= 

S 
u 

2g 


} 


tit 


profjress,  frailty  is  apparent.  The  large  number  of 
defaulters  who  have  been  "  pillars  of  the  Church  '* 
has  excited  much  comment,  and  a  good  Christian 
lately  remarked  that  he  never  had  trusted  implic- 
itly in  a  religious  man  without  being  swindled. 

As  new  forces  have  been  discovered  and  applied 
by  science  and  invention  to  the  material  use  of 
man,  may  not  a  new  motive  be  produced,  which 
will  give  an  impetus  to  the  moral  advancement  of 
the  human  race? 

In  the  past,  the  fear  of  God  has  been  supposed 
to  be  the  chief  deterrent  from  the  commission  of 
evil  acts ;  but  experience  proves  that  men  are  now 
only  slightly  influenced  by  the  idea  of  the  displeas- 
ure of  God,  and  consequent  future  punishment. 
The  scepticism  of  intelligence  and  the  indefinite 
distance  of  the  fulfilment  of  the  threat  alike  make 
these  motives  ineffectual  in  restraining  the  accom- 
plishment of  present  desires  by  im-^roper  means. 
The  other  jj:reat  controllini^  motive  ai^ainst  crime 
is  the  fear  of  the  written  and  unwritten  laws  of  man, 
but  concealment  makes  these  so  often  inoperative 
that  their  power  as  a  deterrent  is  greatly  modified. 
Not  only  is  this  evidenced  among  criminal  classes, 
but  in  all  the  departments  of  business  and  social 
life,  and  even  in  Church  and  State,  we  continually 
see  the  futility  of  all  known  means  of  restraint  to 
prevent  deception  and  unfairness.  The  fear  of 
God  apparently  exercises  but  little  restraint,  and 


;■ . 


MORALITY. 


I4(> 


the  difficulty  of  detection  and  conviction  abrogates 
the  fear  of  man.  Sir  Wilh'am  Harcourt,  when  in- 
troducing the  bill  for  the  repression  of  crime  in  Ire- 
land, said,  "  The  mainspring  of  crime  is  the  expec- 
tation of  impunity."  The  telegraph,  railroad,  and 
detective  police  have  done  much  to  lessen  the  se- 
curity of  criminals  ;  but  we  need  to  find  a  way  in 
which  evidence  can  be  secured,  of  so  positive  a 
character  that  concealment  of  wron<r-doin<^  shall 
be  impossible,  which,  without  resort  to  the  old  tor- 
tures of  the  Incpiisition,  shall  extort  the  truth  froni 
witnesses  or  criminals,  and  prevent  them  from  ob- 
taining the  shelter  of  "  I  don't  know." 

The  researches  of  scientists  have  given  plausi- 
bility, if  not  probability,  to  the  theory  that  all  men- 
tal action  produces  a  permanent  organic  impression. 
As  the  phonograph  registers  sound  by  dents  in  the 
tinfoil,  so  mental  consciousness  may  produce  an  in- 
effaceable record  upon  the  organism  of  the  brain; 
and,  as  the  phonograph  is  made  to  repeat  what  has 
been  stamped  upon  its  cylinder,  so,  under  certain 
conditions,  may  the  tablet  of  the  brain  give  out  its 
inscriptions.  When  read  by  the  owner  of  the  brain, 
the  act  is  called  **  memory."  Many  occurrences  are 
not  thought  of  for  years,  until,  under  some  intense 
mental  excitement, — as  in  the  act  of  drowning,  the 
strife  of  battle,  or  at  sudden  alarm, — the  mind  be- 
comes cognizant  of  certain  records  which  these  past 
events  have  made  upon  the  brain.     But  it  has  been 


MMi 


■MH 


MMaMM 


.jl^^i^^algKBriaAM 


mmmhmu 


150 


TKAVELS  IN  hAlTil, 


f 


•& 


§ 

s 

o 


*■ 


demonstrated  that  occasionally  the  records  of  the 
brain  are  read  by  others.  Instances  of  this  occur 
in  what  is  known  as  second-sii^ht,  mind-reading,  and 
clairvoyance ;  and  it  is  beyond  dispute  that  many 
persons  have  been  able  to  discern  the  present 
thoip^lUs  juul  past  history  of  others.  'J'he  follow- 
ini(  case  is  mentioned  in  I'airrield's  '•  Ten  Years 
with  Spiritual  Mediums":  lleinrich  Zschokke,  the 
Swiss  poet  and  statesman,  remarks,  in  his  autobi- 
» ography,  that  it  has  frecpiently  been  given  to  him, 
on  his  first  interview  with  a  stranger,  to  see  the 
man's  life  passing  before  him  like  a  dream.  When 
dining  with  a  friend  at  the  hotel  at  Waldshut,  a 
stran<rcr  entered  into  argument  with  him.  Zschokke 
turned  to  the  stranger,  and  at  that  moment  he  says, 
**  The  man's  life  ])assed  before  me  ;  and  I  offered 
to  tell  him  the  various  events  of  his  past,  if  he 
would  but  frankly  confess  whether  I  was  correct." 
I  le  assented,  and  Zschokke  proceeded  with  the  nar- 
rative, from  his  student  life  to  his  later  career,  in- 
cluding a  lil)erty  he  had  once  taken  with  the  strong- 
box of  his  principal,  describing  the  room  and  the 
black  box  on  the  table  and  the  manner  of  its  per- 
petration. The  stranger  was  astounded,  but  frankly 
confessed  the  exactness  and  accuracy  of  the  story. 
Numerous  instances  of  this  sort  are  well  accredited, 
and  even  impressions  made  upon  the  eye  without 
affecting  consciousness  have  yet  been  so  recorded 


-u-—^ 


MOLALITY. 


isi 


Upon  the  organism  as  to  be  legible  to  the  mind- 
reader  or  clairvoyant. 

Some  writers,  such  as  Hlavatsky  in  "  Isis  Un- 
veiled," ijo  so  far  as  to  claim  that  all  thinirs  that 
occur** are  recorded  on  the  tablet  of  the  unseen 
universe.     The  adept  can  read  and  know  all." 

Superstition  attributes  this  power  to  supernatural 
agency  ;  but  science  suggests  that  there  is  a  sub- 
tle condition  of  the  faculties,  as  yet  undefinable,  in 
which  the  ability  exists  of  becoming  conscious  of 
the  brain  records  of  others. 

If  this  power  of  mind-reading  is  a  physical  trait, 
may  it  not,  with  advancing  knowledge,  be  more 
clearly  traced  to  its  sources,  and,  as  a  result,  may 
not  its  cultivation  be  possible,  and  thus  certain  per- 
sons be  so  trained  as  to  be  able  to  discern  all  the 
mental  record  of  other  persons.^  In  time,  this  fac- 
ulty might  be  widespread,  so  that  one  man  could 
read  another  as  he  reads  a  book.  What  would  be 
the  effect  of  this  upon  crime  ?  If  the  power  of  con- 
cealment is  now  the  chief  promoter  of  sin,  will  not 
the  absolute  certainty  of  exposure  and  conviction 
be  the  most  repressive  force  that  can  be  conceived 
of?  If  a  man  knows  that  the  moment  he  meets 
another  his  record  will  be  read,  will  not  fraud,  lying, 
theft,  and  murder  be  generally  abandoned,  simply 
because  in  most  cases  they  would  fail  to  attain  their 
objects  ?  This  would  either  be  the  result,  or  else 
so  iety  would  be  so  demoralized  by  the  universal 


152 


TAAyjiLS  AV  /W/7y/. 


3 

i 

o 


evidences  of  sin  as  to  cease  to  reprobate  or  punish 
eviii  anJ  a  moral  degeneracy  would  everjv/here 
prevail.  But  moral  laws  are  now  so  well  based 
upon  natural  necessities  that  there  is  little  fear  of 
this  result 

The  mere  possibility  of  developing  this  faculty 
of  mind-reading,  and  the  consideration  of  the 
results  wliich  would  llow  from  it,  should  excite 
great  Interest  in  the  study  of  psychology  ;  and  if, 
through  its  researches,  this  power  is  secured  to  a 
reliable  extent,  we  may  see  society  regenerated  by 
the  fear  of  man. 

SpcMic*  I  says,  "Not  by  authority  is  your  sway 
to  be  btained^  neither  by  reasoning,  but  by  in- 
ducement." W  hen  doing  wrong  invariably  ceases 
"  to  pay,"  men  will  cease  to  do  evil  and  learn  to 
do  well. 

Buckle  says,  '*  The  moral  actions  of  men  are  not 
the  product  of  their  volition,  but  of  their  antece- 
dents." And  Herbert  Spencer  remarks,  "All  evil 
results  from  the  non-adaptation  of  constitution  to 
conditions."  With  a  more  enlightened  under- 
standing of  the  laws  of  heredity  and  a  more  ra- 
tional and  universal  system  of  education,  we  shall 
find  the  tendency  to  crime  diminishing.  In  the 
last  forty  years,  criminal  convictions  in  England 
have  decreased  fully  one-half,  while  church  attend-  . 
ance  has  declined.  It  is  therefore  not  religion 
that  has   wrought  the    reform  ;    but  it  may  fairly    ' 


i<*]| 


MORALITY. 


'5J 


be  traced  to  intellitrcncc,  as  manifested  in  the  af- 
fairs  of  physical,  mental,  social,  and  industrial  life. 
Were  we  v/ise  enough,  we  could  see  that  a  man's 
ancestry,  organism,  and  surroundings  have  made 
it  necessary  that  he  should  act  and  think  as  he 
does,  and  that  neither  the  "  inlluence  of  the  Spirit" 
nor  his  own  free  will  are  the  true  motive  causes  of 
his  conduct.  If  this  is  true,  eternal  punishment 
for  one's  own  sins  is  hardly  just,  even  though 
some  may  praise  God's  justice  fn  tormenting  for- 
ever men  born  in  this  century,  because  Adam  was 
immoral  and  they  inherited  his  nature.  It  also 
encourages  us  to  seek  the  moral  improvement 
of  man  through  material  causes,  inste.id  of  rely- 
ing upon  supernatural  inlluences.  Work  and  not 
prayer  must  be  our  instrument  of  reform.  Py- 
thagoras divides  virtue  into  tv.o  branches, — to 
seek  truth  and  to  do  good.  The  truth  is  to  be 
sought  through  the  study  of  the  laws  of  nature, 
especially  of  those  relating  to  man  ;  and  good  is 
to  be  done  through  efforts  to  improve  the  terres- 
trial condition  of  man.  Men  need  to  learn  that 
truth  is  not  only  to  be  found  in  the  Hible  and 
through  an  imagined  rapturous  intercourse  of  the 
mind  with  Deity,  and  that  good  does  not  consist 
chiefly  in  church-going,  psalm-singing,  and  saving 
men's  souls. 

One  may  worship  the  Good  and  serve  the  True, 
even  if  he  does  not  personify  them  as  God  and 


tmtdt 


SiSE 


•54 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


~i     * 


Christ.  The  differences  in  the  beliefs  of  good  men 
are  rather  matters  of  definition  than  questions  of 
fact.  Men  may  be  equally  devoted  to  the  welfare 
of  others,  though  one  calls  it  **  working  for  Christ," 
and  another  '*  helping  man." 

The  moral  maxims  of  the  New  Testament  have  in 
many  instances  become  obsolete,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  society  is  evolving  new  rules  of  conduct. 
Another  table  of  commandments  is  in  preparation, 
and  will  be  given  to  men  by  God  as  truly  as  were 
the  first.  Hut  they  will  very  likely  find  utterance 
in  the  **  resolutions"  of  a  convention,  composed  of 
the  wisest  and  best  men  of  the  world.  Perhaps 
the  new  table  will  embrace  such  laws  as  these  : — 

Thou  shall  give  women  ecjual  rights  with  men. 

Thou  shalt  give  a  fair  day's  pay  for  a  fair  day's 
work,  and  the  laborers  shall  share  with  the  capital- 
ists the  profits  of  their  enterprises. 

Thou  shalt  not  protect  one  industry  at  the  ex- 
pense of  another,  and  thou  shalt  not  refuse  free 
trade  with  other  nations. 

Thou  shalt  tax  all  property  alike,  religious  or 
secular. 

Thou  shalt  not  give  religious  instruction  in  pub- 
lic schools,  nor  force  any  to  pay  for  the  support  of 
religious  practices  which  they  do  not  approve. 

Thou  shalt  not  advance  the  price  of  merchan- 
dise by  "corners." 


MORALITY. 


•55 


Thou  shalt  lay  up  treasure  upon  earth,  but  shall 
use  it  for  the  benefit  of  man. 

Many  rationalists  do  not  accept  this  "utilita- 
rian "  scheme  of  morals,  which  rests  upon  expe- 
rience and  results  ;  but,  with  the  transcendental- 
ists,  they  believe  that  man  possesses  innate  ideas 
or  intuitions,  which  are  above  the  senses,  tellinLr 
what  is  riijht  and  just,  without  rej^ard  to  conse- 
quences as  a  motive  for  action.  Lecky,  Theodore 
Parker,  and  the  Concord  philosophers  are  amon^ 
the  expounders  of  this  view. 

It  is  perhaps  the  greatest  question  now  before 
the  thinker ;  for  the  grandest  problem  of  life  is 
how  to  make  men  better  and  happier,  and  the  way 
in  which  moral  ideas  are  gained  is  an  essential  fac- 
tor in  the  solution. 


'   -•. 


« .• 


THE  FUTURE. 


:3 


Biblical  scholars  are  generally  agreed  that  there 
is  no  indisputable  evidence  in  the  earlier  books  of 
the  Old  Testament  that  the  doctrine  of  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul  and  a  future  life  was  known  to 
the  Jews  of  those  days.  It  is  an  idea  which  grad- 
ually gained  currency  among  philosophers,  and  was 
emphasized  by  Jesus  and  the  apostles.  It  was  not 
revealed  by  them,  for  it  was  believed  before  their 
day.  If,  when  it  was  made  known,  it  was  received 
by  way  of  direct  revelation  from  God,  it  may  rightly 
be  asked  why  God,  who  talked  with  men,  kept  such 
needful  knowledge  carefully  concealed  for  so  many 
ages,  and  let  his  fi  lends,  the  men  after  his  own 
heart,  live  and  die  in  ignorance  of  so  important  a 
truth,  virtually  deceiving  them  as  to  the  facts  of 
their  existence.  But  the  late  attainment  of  the 
idea  is  explained,  if  we  accept  the  theory  that  it  is 
a  higher  intellectual  conception  than  the  earlier 
races  of  men  were  capable  of  exercising,  and  has 
been  developed  from  the  advancing  mind  of  man. 
As  to  the  proof  of  its  truth,  we  must  say  that  there 
is  none  beyond  the  fact  of  its  belief :  there  is  no 
evidence  of  a  future  life  that  will  bear  the  test  of 
examination  ;  but  there  are  strong  analogies  in  na- 


THE  FUTURE. 


•57 


ture  and  an  intense  yearning;  in  man  which  stimu- 
late the  hope  that  death  does  not  end  all.  Ham- 
let's soliloquy  expresses  this  arj^ument.  The  pict- 
ures of  heaven  given  in  the  New  Testament  arc 
the  fond  imaijfinations  of  the  writers  of  that  aire, 
and  are  not  acceptable  to  the  present  generation, 
who  have  no  more  delight  in  the  prospect  of  white 
robes  and  harps,  and  the  song  of  Moses  and  the 
Lamb,  than  in  the  land  of  Watts'  conception, 
"  where  congregations  ne'er  break  up  and  Sabbaths 
have  no  end."  Each  age  and  clime  makes  heaven 
for  itself.  The  modern  authoress  changes  the  harp 
into  a  piano  ;  the  tropical  negro  looks  to  a  cool, 
shady  grove  ;  and  the  Esquimaux  believes  in  a  land 
of  sunshine.  These  imaginations  may  do  no  harm, 
and  may  even  be  beneficial  and  comforting,  if  kept 
in  the  right  place;  but  when  they  exalt  ihe  world 
to  come  over  this  world,  as  the  rightful  object  of 
our  concern,  they  arc  hurtful.  The  Bible  teaches 
that  this  world  is  condemned  of  God  on  account  of 
the  sin  of  the  man  he  made  ;  and  his  lontr-sufferint: 
patience  is  gathering  out  a  few  favored  elect  ones 
to  dwell  in  a  new  heaven  and  new  earth,  when  he 
has  destroyed  the  present  abode  of  man  and  the 
vast  majority  of  its  inhabitants.  As  in  the  days  of 
Noah,  so  it  is  to  be  at  the  coming  of  the  Lord. 
Consistcrl  Christians,  therefore,  *'love  not  the 
world,  neither  the  things  that  arc  in  the  world," 
and  ignore  all  attempts  to  improve  what  God  has 


.  T 

4 


158 


TKA  VELS  AV  FAITH. 


s 


ID 
ft: 

a 


cursed,  which  cannot  be  regerierated  by  any  efforts 
of  n'  an.  They  teach  that  Christians  should  not  en- 
gage in  politics,  nor  hold  ofHice,  nor  seek  wealth,  nor 
crave  pleasure;  but,  with  loins  girded  and  lamps 
trimmed  and  burning,  should  wait  for  their  Lord. 
The  majority  of  Christians,  however,  are  not  of 
this  mind,  and  believe  in  making  the  best  of  both 
worlds,  though  any  candid  reader  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament must  see  that  they  are  a  different  order  of 
Christians  from  the  original  sect,  and  have  virtually 
evolved  a  new  reliijfion  to  suit  the  times. 

The  apostles  and  early  Christians  were  looking 
for  the  speedy  return  of  Christ,  and  therefore 
taught  contempt  of  the  world.  Their  hope  being 
false,  as  is  that  of  those  who  now  wait  for  his  ap- 
pearance, their  conclusions  are  therefore  wrong. 
A  good  old  man,  who  spent  his  days  in  prayer  and 
tract  distribution,  was  admiring  the  noble  ship  in 
which  I  was  about  to  embark  on  a  voyage  around 
the  world.  '*  Yes,"  I  said,  **  we  hope  to  have  some 
good  times  in  her." 

••  Ah,  my  dear  brother,"  said  he,  "  we  can't  take 
any  pleasure  in  this  world  that  has  crucified  our 
Lord." 

His  view  of  life  was  similar  to  that  of  the  "dear 
brother"  who  shut  his  eyes  in  the  cars,  lest  the 
beauties  of  this  world  should  distract  his  thoughts 
from  Christ  and  the  age  to  come.  They  consid- 
ered inventions  and  arts  as  man's  effort  to  improve 


THE  lUTUKE. 


•59 


what  God  had  condemned.  Though  Christians 
generally  may  now  disavow  these  pietistic  views, 
they  cannot  deny  their  Scripturalness ;  and  con- 
sistency should  lead  them  to  follow  them,  or  else 
admit  that  the  New  Testament  is  not  their  infalli- 
ble guide.  These  views  of  the  future  life,  as  being 
so  immeasurably  the  object  of  our  concern,  dis- 
couraLTC  efforts  for  the  increase  of  knowledc^e  and 
invention  or  the  improvement  of  the  material  con- 
dition of  man,  the  saving  of  his  soul  being  all  that 
is  worth  attention,  since  the  world  and  all  in  it  is  to 
be  burned  up.  Some  writers  maintain  that  any 
hope  of  immortality  is  injurious,  as  necessarily  dis- 
tracting thought  and  effort  from  the  present  life  ; 
but  it  is  not  clear  that  this  must  be  so,  if  it  is  rec- 
ognized as  only  a  hope,  the  realization  of  which  is 
not  so  defmite  as  to  warrant  the  engrossment  of 
the  faculties  in  its  contemplation.  If  we  make  the 
best  of  this  world,  when  another  comes  we  shall 
find  we  have  made  the  best  possible  preparation 
for  it.  Spinoza  says,  '*  The  proper  study  of  a  wise 
man  is  not  how  to  die,  but  how  to  live." 

If  wc  never  awake  from  our  dreamless  sleep,  we 
shall  never  know  our  loss.  Life  is  a  burden  to 
most  people.  Their  happiest  moment  is  when  they 
are  just  falling  into  sleep ;  and  they  usually  awake 
with  a  sigh,  as  the  consciousness  of  another  day's 
care  comes  to  the  mind.  Some  writer  has  said 
man's  happiest  hours  are  those  which  he  passes  in 


iCiO 


TA'AVELS  IN  tAITU. 


s 


childhood  and  in  sleep.  Why,  then,  should  eter- 
nal sleep  be  so  dreaded  ?  The  rational  mind  must 
reject  the  idea  of  a  perfect  future  state,  for  there 
must  ever  be  progress  upward.  Life  must  there- 
fore always  be  in  some  sense  a  strucrgle ;  and, 
though  ambition  promjjts  the  desire  to  engage  in 
it,  yet  the  weary  laborer  need  not  shudder  at  the 
thought  of  eternal  unconscious  rest,  and  may  ''sink 
to  sleep  "  more  peacefully  than  though  agitated 
■with  ihouj^hts  of  anjrcls  and  unwonted  «»lories. 

But,  if  this  hope  has  grown  in  man  as  his  intel- 
ligence has  increased,  it  has  been  founded  upon 
fact  or  has  been  useful.  If  it  is  not  true,  when  it 
erases  to  be  useful,  it  will  be  iliscarded  ;  and,  if  it 
is  true,  the  demand  which  man's  mind  now  makes 
for  evidence,  without  which  no  belief  can  much 
longer  exist,  will  be  met  by  proof,  which  his  ad- 
vancing powers  will  elicit  from  nature.  If  there 
is  any  light  to  be  gained  on  this  subject  from  the 
phenomena  of  "Spiritualism,"  it  will  in  time  be 
made  plain.  Immortality  is  one  of  the  mysteries 
which  we  may  not  deny,  but  which  as  yet  we  do 
not  know.  If  it  cannot  be  positively  denied,  and 
there  is  therefore  a  possibility  of  its  truth,  it  is  not 
irrational  to  hope  for  it. 

The  aim  of  life  should  therefore  be  to  assist  in 
tlu,*  subjection  of  the  laws  of  nature  to  man's  use, 
and  to  improve  the  moral,  intellectual,  and  social 
condition  of  man.     Instead  of  endeavoring  to  con- 


I 


THE  FUTURE. 


i6i 


vert  men  to  a  belief  in  theories  which  will  make 
them   happy   in   a   hereafter,  of   which  we   know 
nothing  and  which   men   throuij^h   the  ai^es  have 
conceived   of  differently,  according  to    their  own 
temperaments,  we  should  aid  the  progress,  which 
history  shows  has  slowly  but  surely  been  going  on, 
of  making  man  the  master  of  this  world.     The  ap- 
plication of  steam,  gas,  electricity,  and  some  only 
suspected  forces  to  the  comfort  and  power  of  man, 
offers  an  unbounded  lield  to  the  man  of  science  or 
the  practical  mechanic  ;  while  the  philosopher  and 
theologian  can  turn  their  devotion  and  cretlulity 
from  the  myths  of  darker  ages  to  the  discovery  of 
psychological  laws,  which,  hinted  to  us  in  the  phe- 
nomena of  "  Spiritualism,"  suggest  a  vast  enlarge- 
ment in   the   range  of  man's  intellectual  powers. 
They  can   study   the   problem  of  moral   restraint 
without  the  supposition  of  divine  edicts,  the  meth- 
ods of  raising  the  profits  of  labor  to  a  more  just 
proportion  to  those  of  capital,  the  abolition  of  the 
selfish,  demoralizing,  and  partial  laws  of  so-called 
"  protection  of  industry,"  which  makes  each  nation 
the  commercial  enemy  of  every  other,  and  robs  its 
many  citizens  for  the  benefit  of  the  few,  and,  by 
the  promotion  of  free  trade  and  the  intercourse  of 
reciprocal  commerce  all  over  the  world,  develop  the 
bonds  of  peace,  which  will  forever  chain  the  demon 
of  war  and  bind  all  men  into  a  universal  brother- 
hood.    The  Christian,  instead  of  being  "  a  man  of 


It 


164 


TRA  VELS  iN  t'AITJI. 


i 


one  book,"  and  that  a  compilation  of  the  traditions 
of  a  credulous  age,  will  become  a  student  of  the 
volumes  of  nature,  and  learning  its  facts  will  dis- 
cover its  laws.  Winwood  Reade  in  *'  The  Mar- 
tyrdom of  Man  "  says  :  "  There  is  a  great  enter- 
prise in  which  men  have  always  unconsciously 
been  engaged,  but  which  they  will  pursue  with 
method  as  an  avocation  and  an  art,  which  they 
will  devoutly  adopt  as  a  religious  faith,  as  soon  as 
they  realize  its  glory.  It  is  the  conquest  of  the 
planet  on  which  we  dwell,  the  destruction  or  do- 
mestication of  the  savage  forces  by  which  we  are 
tormented  and  enslaved."  He  says,  when  men 
made  fire  serve  them,  the  first  victory  was  won. 
*'  But  we  can  conquer  Nature  only  by  obeying  her 
laws,  and  we  must  first  learn  what  they  are." 

If  the  Bible  predictions  as  to  the  world's  future 
are  to  be  classed  with  the  innumerable  myths  and 
legends  that  pervade  the  literature  of  all  people, 
what  does  Science  teach  us  ?  She  knows  nothing 
of  the  future  save  what  is  taught  by  the  analogy 
of  the  facts  of  the  past.  What  has  been  will  be : 
that  is  all  that  she  can  say.  She  finds  in  the  past 
a  slow,  painful  process  of  improvement  going  on 
in  all  animate  Nature;  and  she  assumes  that  it 
will  go  on,  and  things  that  improve  forever  must 
in  time  approach  perfection.  But  she  finds  evi- 
dences of  a  limit  to  the  existence  of  worlds,  and 
sees  a  possibility  of  such  changes  in  condition  as 


TJtE  FUTURE. 


««3 


to  lead  to  the  extinction  of  all  life  on  this  globe, 
though  vast  ages  must  elapse  before  this  result 
could  ensue  from  the  orderly  progression  of  causes 
which  have  worked  in  the  past. 

The  prc-millennial  scheme  of  the  speedy  advent 
of  Christ  to  miraculously  perfect  the  earth,  after 
destroying  the  evil  men  in  it,  and  then  in  a  thou- 
sand years  burning  the  world  itself  up,  and  the 
post-millennial  theory  of  the  gradual  but  not  far 
distant  conversion  of  the  world  to  Christianity, 
and  a  thousand  years  of  blessedness  followed  by 
the  appearance  of  Christ  to  destroy  the  world,  find 
no  support  from  the  records  of  what  has  been. 
No  one  can  say  it  may  not  be  so,  but  there  are  the 
best  of  reasons  for  believing  it  will  not  be  so. 
God  has  never  told  us  it  would  be  thus  ;  and  the 
stor)'  which  many  believe  came  from  God  is  so 
differently  interpreted  imder  "the  infallible  guid- 
ance of  the  Holy  Ghost,"  by  those  to  whom  the 
revelation  is  supposed  to  have  been  given,  that  no 
two  men  can  agree  as  to  the  details  of  fui^lment ; 
and  as  to  the  event  of  greatest  concern,  the  ap- 
pearance of  Christ,  believers  in  his  coming  are  at 
least  a  thousand  years  apart  in  their  reckonings. 
When  God  gives  us  a  revelation,  he  will  be  likely 
to  tell  us  something ;  but  a  tale  of  war-horses,  and 
trumpets,  and  vials  of  wrath,  and  beasts,  which 
most  learned  men  tell  us  mean  great  events  of 
past  history,  but  disagree  as  to  what  they  are,  the 


s 


'5 

u 

2g 


164 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITJI. 


beast  being  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  or  Nero,  or  the 
Pope,  or  the  Church  of  Rome,  or  Louis  Napo- 
leon,— and  which  other  equally  wise  men  declare 
refer  to  events  that  have  not  yet  happened,  the 
beast  beint^  a  wicked  ruler  yet  to  appear, — this 
tale  seems  to  a  rational  mind  to  be  more  probably 
the  poetic  imaij^inini^  of  the  reli*^ious  prophets  of  a 
less  enlijj^htened  ai;e  than  the  present,  than  the  in- 
struction from  God  as  to  what  man  is  to  expect. 
It  is  impossible  that  the  God  which  the  nineteenth 
century  can  alone  conceive  of  should  reveal  \i\\di\. 
is  unintellij^ible.  A  noted  orthodox  theoloijian 
has  said,  "The  study  of  the  Book  of  Revelation 
either  finds  or  leaves  a  man  crazy"  ;  and  yet  at  its 
beginnini^f  the  Holy  Ghost  says,  "Blessed  is  h'^ 
that  readeth  and  tliey  that  hear  the  words  of  the 
prophecy." 

If  thin<(s  are  to  go  on,  what  then  may  we  ex- 
pect ?  We  are  warranted  in  believing  that  the 
forces  of  nature  will  become  the  servants  of  man. 
Time  and  space  will  be  almost  annihilated  by 
aerial  llight,  talking  on  beams  of  light,  electric  and 
pneumatic  despatches,  and  other  modes  of  move- 
ment and  communication.  New  motive  powers 
and  machinery  will  abolish  the  curse  of  labor. 
Chemistry  will  create  cheap  food.  Social  science 
will  distribute  wealth  more  ecjually,  banish  land 
monopolies,  let  producers  get  a  greater  benefit 
than  they  nov/  do  in  comparison  with  the  gains  of 


mm 


THE  FUTURE, 


'65 


the  capitalist.  Muscle,  and  brains,  and  money 
will  share  results  in  more  ecjuitable  {proportions. 
But  what  of  sin  ?  Of  what  use  is  all  this,  while  it 
may  yet  be  said,  "  Only  man  is  vile"?  History 
certainly  shows  that  man  is  less  vile  than  he  was 
once  ;  and,  if  he  has  improvetl,  we  are  warranted 
in  hopinc^  he  will  *'«^o  on  unto  perfection."  The 
telegraph,  the  newspaper,  and  the  hiijh  moral  sen- 
timent which  Is  the  standard  of  society  now,  brintj 
to  notice  a  multitude  of  crimes  that  in  old  times 
would  not  have  jj^ained  publicity,  both  from  the 
lack  of  facilities  for  publication  and  the  prevail- 
ing lax  morality  which  would  have  ignored  them. 
These  increased  exhibits  of  sin  cause  some  to 
mourn  over  the  degeneracy  of  the  times,  and  to 
sigh  for  a  return  of  the  good  old  days.  If  th(!y 
will  read  the  histories  of  those  days,  they  will  find 
cause  for  gratitude  that  they  do  not  date  iheir 
births  any  earlier.  Governments,  all  will  admit^ 
have  improved  ;  and,  as  laws  are  the  expressions 
of  the  wills  of  the  governed,  it  follows  that  men 
collectively,  and  therefore  individually,  have  im- 
proved. If  society  is  b(!tter,  man  is  better.  The 
social  conditions  of  the  Middle  Ages,  or  the  Ro- 
man Empire,  or  the  days  of  Abraham  were  mor- 
ally inferior  to  those  of  to-day ;  and  though,  indi- 
vidually, man's  morality  does  not  seem  to  have  kept 
pace  with  the  material  improvement  of  his  circum- 


'  » 


i66 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


I 

t 

i 
I 


Stances,  it  must  be  admitted  that  it  has  advanced, 
and  therefore  probably  will  advance. 

Lewes  in  **  Problems  of  Life  and  Mind"  says: 
*'  Amonji^  the  many  stranije  servilities  mistaken  for 
pieties,  one  of  the  least  lovely  is  that  which  hopes 
-to  flatter  God  by  despisint:^  the  world  and  vilifying 
human  nature.  The  author  of  creation  is  the  only 
autlior  who  is  supposed  to  be  flattered  by  the  lav- 
ish assurance  that  his  works  are  imbecile."  While 
men  insist  on  stylint;  themselves  vile  worms  of  the 
dust,  the)'  not  only  insult  the  God  who  they  be- 
lieve made  them,  but  they  retard  the  pro<^ress  of 
man. 

Man's  conception  of  Deity  is  the  evidence  of 
the  aspiration  of  his  nature  and  of  the  j(oal  toward 
which  his  cnerunes  and  desires  are  directed.  The 
(jualitics  and  powers  which  men  have  most  desired 
to  attain  to,  they  have  attributed  to  God  ;  and  the 
j)ro^fress  of  humanity  in  each  aj^e  is  toward  the 
character  an«.l  ability  t)f  its  Gotl.  Man's  thouj^ht 
of  God,  therefore,  becomes  a  prophecy  of  his  own 
ilestinv,  ami  in  aij^es  to  come  man  mav  rise  to  the 
j)ossession  of  the  attributes  of  his  present  (lod. 
What  intinuitions  we  already  have  of  this, — travel 
by  steam,  aerial  voyai^t's,  talkini^  by  telegraph,  tel- 
ephone and  phot(»phone,  listeiung  with  the  micro- 
phone !  Timi!  and  si)ace  are  being  annihilated  by 
these  inventions,  which  convey  a  suggestion  of  the 
omni[)resence  of  man. 


THE  FUTIj'RE. 


167 


The  phenomena  of  mind-reading,  clairvoyance, 
and  second  sii^ht,  may  he  the  germs  of  a  rising 
ahih'ty  which  may  increase  to  a  capacity  for  what 
seems  to  us  infinite  knowledge,  and  man  will  be- 
come omniscient. 

The  application  of  chemistry  to  the  arts,  of  me- 
chanical invention  to  manufactures,  of  electricity, 
animal  magnetism,  will-power,  and  other  physical 
and  psychic  forces  to  the  gfiseral  necessities  of 
men,  give  us  a  foreshadowing  of  a  future  omnipo- 
tence. 

When  man  thus  becomes  relatively  omnipres- 
ent, omniscient,  and  omnipotent,  and  a  corre 
sponding  moral  advance  and  •'  love  to  man  "  arc 
gained,  his  present  ideal  of  God  will  be  in  a  great 
measure  realized;  and  the  true  "coming  of  the 
Lord  "  to  earth,  for  which  all  ages  have  hoped  and 
waited,  will  become  a  fact. 


THE   CHURCH  AND  ITS  WORK. 


a 

.J 


2 

:3 


< 
2 


We  f.nd  a  workl-wide  institution,  known  arnong" 
Christians  as  the  Church,  which  may  be  defined  as 
the  association  of  people  (or  the  exercise  of  relig- 
ious emotions.  It  has  its  church  buildin<rs,  tem- 
ples, mos(|ues,  and  schools,  ministers,  priests,  and 
teachers.  Some  rationalists  attack  this  institution, 
cluHjic  it  with  evLTv  crime  asj'ainst  humanity  and 
obstruction  of  its  advancement,  and  demand  its 
overthrow  and  destruction.  The  evolutionist  must 
see  that  such  a  course  is  hi«^hly  irrational  ;  for  so 
universal  an  ori^anization  must  have  been  founded 
upon  the  necessities  of  man's  nature,  and  has  doubt- 
less contributed  to  its  development.  Its  vast  sys- 
tefu,  if  the  analo*^^y  of  rjature's  workings  is  to  be 
followed,  will  not  be  destroyed,  but  will  become  the 
promoter  of  bc^tter  thinL,^s.  The  chani^c  is  percep- 
tibly i.^oini;-  ow,  and  is  loudly  lamented  by  many 
atlherents.  Church  attendance  is  falling  off,  min- 
istcTs  sa)',  •'  because  men  are  growing  worldly  and 
wicked";  others  say,  *' l.)ecausc!  [)eople  are  becom- 
ing too  intelligent  to  be  interested  in  ministers* 
preaching."  Ministers  are  Ik  ing  e.\|»elled  from  the 
cluirches  for  "  heresy,"  aiul  others  are  preachinjj 
"qualihed  views,"  as  far  as  they  dare.  The  num- 
ber of    ministers  is  proportionately  lessening,  be- 


THE  Clfl'KClI  AXD  ITS  WOK  A'. 


\(<) 


cause  the  education  of  the  times  prevents  youni^ 
men  from  puttini;  upon  their  intellects  the  yoke 
of  bondage  prescribed  by  the  oUl  creeds  of  the 
Churches,  and  it  is  foreseen  that  the  only  prospect 
which  a  thinkinir  man  has  before  him  in  the  min- 
istry  is  quarrelliiii^  and  separation.  If  he  preaches 
the  old  theoloi^y,  unless  he  is  a  iLjenius  or  a  moun- 
tebank, he  will  be  considered  dull,  and  the  church 
will  dismiss  him  for  not  fdliniL]^  the  pews  and  mak- 
inor  the  church  pay  ;  and  if  he  preaches  on  the  toj)- 
ics  of  the  times  and  shows  advancinij;  ideas  about 
Moses  and  Joshua,  althouj^h  he  draws  a  full  house, 
some  conscientious  hearers  will  stir  uj)  disaffection, 
w.iich  will  niak(!  him  ;^dad  to  accept  "a  providen- 
tial call  to  a  wider  sphere  of  usefulness." 

Attendants  upon  churches  wonder  why  it  is  they 
are  so  listless  and  sleepy,  more  interested  in  bon- 
nets than  in  the  sermon  ;  why  the  childnMi  cry  Ix!- 
cause  they  have  to  t^o  "to  that  liorrid  church"; 
why  they  can  listen  with  breathlc^ss  interest  on  a 
week-day  eveninir  for  two  whole  hours  to  their 
bright  minister's  lecture  about  his  "Trip  to  Cali- 
fornia," and  on  Sunday  his  "gifted"  long  prayer 
of  fifteen  minutes  excites  only  a  responsive  snore, 
and  his  forty-five  minutes'  exposition  of  Jacob 
"watering  stock,"  as  IngersoU  expresses  it,  or 
Simon  Peter  catching  fish,  produces  yawns.  Why 
is  it,  men  nsk,  that  the  press  and  the  platform  are 
so  popular,  while  the  pulpit  is  losing  power?    This 


170 


TRAVELS  IN  fAITtl. 


2 
o 

s 


IS  the  true  answer :  the  first  treat  of  live  facts,  the 
last  deals  v  ith  dead  and  dying  fiction.     Only  what 
is  real  can  long  enchain  men's  attention  in  this  age. 
Many  come  out  of  church  feeling,  and  perhaps  say- 
ing, "There  is   something  wrong   about  this;  it 
docs  not  satisfy  one's  cravings,  it  is  not  in  the  line 
of  nature,  something  must  be  done  to  make  preach- 
inir  intercL.uiiii;."     The  chantje  to  be  made  is  to  sub- 
stitute  the  true  for  the  false.    Destroy  the  churches  ? 
No,  let  tlicm  be  the  grand  lecture  rooms,  enforc- 
ing morality,  humanity,  and  education  by  exposi- 
tion of  the  irjorious  and  fast  revealin<r  facts  of  na- 
ture,  upon  which  alone  they  rest,  and  which  supply 
tile  only  lasting   incentive  to  their  culture.     Let 
Sunday  be  the  great  day  of  mental  instruction  and 
elevatin<r  diversion  to  the  toilinir  millions,  in  Sun- 
day-schools,  churches,  libraries,  art  galleries,  fields, 
and  woods.     \Vt?  luied  preachers  and  teachers  all  the 
more,  K:st  the  new-found  liberty  degenerate  into 
license,  as  it  always  does  with  some  natures,  who 
have  known  only  the  restraints  of  law.     Let  radi- 
cals not  be  too  eager  to  overthrow  existing  institu- 
tions  ;    let  them   rather  work    in  nature's  way  of 
growth,  till  the  shackles  burst  by  the  full  develop- 
ment of  what  they  confine.     The  "  crimes  of  Chris- 
tianity "  are  the  expression  of  the  ignorant  passions 
of  the  dark  ages  ;  and,  as  J.  W.  Chadwick  has  re- 
marked, if  men  had  not  persecuted  through  the 
power  of  the  Church,  the  same  forces  would  have 


-.IdM 


THE  CIICKCJI  Ai\'D  ITS  U'OKK. 


'7» 


produced  somcthinc;  equally  bad.  Give  the  credit 
that  is  due  to  Christianity,  and  preserve  all  that  is 
helpful  to  man  in  its  creed  and  organization.  All 
that  is  good  and  elevating  in  the  life  of  Jesus  is 
the  heritage  of  man  :  let  us  profit  still  by  its  benign 
influence,  and,  while  we  "prove  all  things,  hold 
fast  that  which  is  «'ood." 

The  Church  is  changing  in  accord  with  the  spirit 
of  the  age.  As  interest  and  belief  in  doctrines 
subside,  the  church  organization  becomi.'s  us(!ful  in 
social  and  benevolent  schemes.  Parties,  literary 
and  musical  entertainments,  picnics  and  fairs,  cause 
churches  to  be  valued  by  many  as  religious  fun- 
clubs,  and  a  decreased  interest  in  souls  gives  larg- 
er scope  for  action  to  increase  the  temporal  wel- 
fare of  men. 

What  would  Jesus  think  of  the  Church,  if  he 
came  to  earth  again  as  a  man  ?  and  what  would 
the  churches  think  of  him?  Is  there  a  pulj)it  in  a 
fashionable  church  where  he  would  be  invitetl  to 
preach?  If  he  stood  at  the  church  door  and  saitl 
to  the  rich  deacon,  as  he  came  toward  the  carriage, 
"Sell  all  that  thou  hast  and  give  to  the  poor,  and 
come  follow  me,"  would  not  the  deacon  call  for 
a  policeman  ? 

Many  intelligent  and  scholarly  ministers,  who 
are  outgrowing  belief  in  the  Calvinistic  creeds  o 
which  they  are  officially  committed,  realize  that 
these  dogmas  arc  driving  from  the  Church  men 


.T" 


17a 


TRA  VELS  JX  FAITH. 


3 


whose  practical  sympathies  and  purposes  are  en- 
tirely in  accord  with  their  own.  To  save  such  per- 
sons to  the  Church,  the  invitation  to  the  Lord's 
Supper  is  made  so  broad  that  few  need  to  turn 
their  backs  on  it.  One  is  told  that,  if  he  only  can 
profess  ''loyalty  to  Jesus,"  he  may  reserve  all  opin- 
ions about  evangelical  doctrines.  An  agnostic, 
who  denies  all  that  is  supernatural  in  the  records 
of  the  life  of  Jesus,  is  admitted  to  membership  in 
a  ConLrre<';ational  church  ;  and  one  who  in  honest 
consistency  feels  obliged  to  renounce  membership 
is  told  that  lie  should  have  remained  inside,  and 
helloed  to  bring  the  Church  to  the  rational  position 
toward  which  it  is  slowly  moving.  At  present  men 
who  feel  oblij/ed  to  aiUa<:onize  erroneous  creeds 
are  placed  in  a  false  position,  as  apparently  opposed 
to  the  practical  morality  of  Christianity.  When 
the  churches  disavow  the  false  dogmas  with  which 
gooii:iess  has  become  entrusted,  their  practical  aims 
a'ul  work  will  be  assisted  by  many  who  now  feel 
their  only  consistent  standing-place  is  outside  the 
Church. 

The  charity  and  missionary  organizations  of  the 
Church  must  be  preserved,  and  their  working  im- 
l)roved  in  method  and  enlarged  in  scope.  Foreign 
missions  are  doing  a  great  educational  work,  and 
are  yearly  tentling  toward  a  larger  interest  in  the 
establishment  of  schools  and  colleges  than  in  the 
propagation    of   theologies,     A  leader  in  foreign 


^^^S^^^z^  •  -  >««>-^ 


77//:   CHURCH  AXD  /TS  WORK'. 


'75 


.1 


:1 


mission  ciforts  told  mc,  with  an  injunction  of  se- 
crecy, that  he  was  much  less  interested  than  for- 
merly in  the  society  of  which  he  was  a  manaorcr, 
because  in  their  policy  the  salvation  of  souls  was 
becoming  more  and  more  secondary  to  the  educa- 
tion of  the  mind.  We  shall  some  day  see  these 
agencies  devoted  solely  to  spreading  moral  and 
physical  knowledge  among  savages  and  ignorant 
nations,  and  then  earnestly  supported  by  rational- 
ists. The  wholesale  denunciation  of  missionaries 
is  unjust.  I  have  visited  numbers  of  mission  sta- 
tions, and  never  saw  one  where  there  was  not  an 
apparent  influence  for  good  nor  where  the  workers 
were  not  faithful  and  earnest  peo[)le.  The  religion 
they  teach  is  certainly  better  than  the  one  it  dis- 
places, and  the  dogmas  of  theology  are  not  made 
as  prominent  as  tliey  are  at  home.  When  they  are 
entirely  dropped  from  the  teaching,  and  missionary 
societies  become  educational  societies  wholly,  they 
will  demand  and  receive  the  support  of  all  intelli- 
gent men. 

Those  who  still  believe  in  the  story  of  the  Tower 
of  Babel  m.ist  be  puzzled,  as  I  used  to  be,  to  ex- 
plain how  God  should  have  caused  the  existence 
of  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  knowl- 
edge,— the  diversity  of  languages.  Since  learning 
that  this  story  is  the  myth  of  an  ignorant  people, 
I  am  relieved  from  the  necessity  of  believing  that 
God,  who  *'  desires  all  men  to  repent  and  come  to 


*M 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


9 

i 


the  knowledge  of  the  truth,"  has  been  the  greatest 
enemy  of  foreign  missions. 

Theological  seminaries  at  present  are  mainly  in- 
stitutions where  men  are  taught  how  to  maintain 
preconceived  theories  formulated  by  their  ances. 
tors.  The  education  thus  given  is  one-sided,  for 
fact  is  warped  to  conform  to  theory.  The  language 
of  the  Hijjle  is  made  to  conform  to  the  desired  no- 
tion by  taking  it  literally,  figuratively,  or  spiritually, 
as  best  suits  the  requirement.  I  am  convinced  that 
the  peculiar  difficulty  attending  the  settlement  of 
theological  discussions  is  owing  to  the  habit  of  mind 
which  is  formed  by  the  custom  of  spiritualizing  the 
meaning  of  Scripture  words,  when  it  helps  an  ar- 
gument to  i\o  so.  It  creates  an  unconscious  ten- 
dency to  an  unfair  use  of  language  in  controversy. 
A  l^onirreirational  minister  tells  me  that  his  room- 
mate  at  Andover  Seminary  felt  unable  to  assent  to 
the  creed.  The  profesi:or  said,  "  Oh,  you  can  sub- 
scribe to  it  as  we  all  do,  in  the  sense  which  the 
words  mean  in  your  own  mind."  The  necessity  for 
such  warping  of  mind  and  conscience  must  be  in- 
jurious to  intellect  and  heart. 

Hut  the  theological  seminary  is  not  to  be  dis- 
carded. It  may  become  the  greatest  help  and  the 
grandest  power.  Workers  in  every  field  of  science 
are  gathcing  facts,  each  in  his  own  special  depart- 
ment ;  and  the  need  of  a  generalization  of  results 
is  most  apparent.     The  varied  facts  must  be  gath- 


»»«ii»Wi»<»— ii»1*i   »— n»ii  —  < 


THE  CHURCH  AND  ITU  \VOHh\ 


i/i 


ered,  harmonized,  and  arranj^ed  in  systems  and 
philosophies,  and  the  theological  seminary  is  the 
place  to  do  it.  Instead  of  an  exclusive  study  of 
Hebrew  religion,  upon  the  false  assumption  that 
this  alone  is  revealed  by  God  and  all  others  are 
inventions  of  men,  a  studious  comparison  of  all  re- 
ligions will  be  made,  and  the  development  of  the 
religious  idea  in  man  will  be  traced  and  followed 
out  scientifically,  showing  its  past  connections  and 
suggesting  its  future  resolution  into  one  universal 
creed.  Instead  of  dismissing  diversity  of  language 
by  a  summary  reference  to  Habel,  a  comparative 
study  of  anci(.'nt  languages  will  throw  light  upon 
the  growth  of  speech  and  give  indications  of  the 
methods  to  secure  a  universal  language.  Instead 
of  the  vain  effort  to  reconcile  Genesis  and  science, 
the  views  of  tlu*  Hebrews  about  nature  will  only 
have  an  antiquarian  interest,  and  religion  will  cease 
to  oppose  all  knowledge  that  conflicts  with  the  the- 
ology of  the  Jews.  Then,  with  unbiassed  mind,  the 
newly  revealed  facts  of  nature  can  be  studied  with 
reference  to  their  relation  to  the  infinite  first  cause. 
Political  economy  and  many  branches  of  social  sci- 
ence could  here  find  a  proper  nursery.  In  fact, 
there  will  be  no  end  to  the  sphere  of  usefulness 
opened  when  the  theological  seminary  shall  be 
changed  into  the  scientific  theorizing  seminary. 

Christian  institutions,  therefore,  are  to  be  en- 
larged in  scope,  even  though  the  names  be  not 


i 


176 


7W//  Ti^Zi"  /^r  FAITIL 


chanji^ed.  We,  who  desire  to  be  in  active  accord 
and  harmony  with  all  efforts  for  the  welfare  of 
man,  call  upon  the  many  ministers  who  by  the 
light  of  science  have  discovered  the  falsity  of  the 
creeds  they  are  bound  to,  asking  them  boldly  to 
instruct  their  people  in  the  truths  revealed  by  the 
evolution  philosophy  and  modern  Biblical  criti- 
cism, that  they  may  cease  to  shun  and  despise 
good  and  intelligent  men  who  have  learned  that 
the  Bible  is  a  human  compilation  of  scattered  and 
fragmentary  Hebrew  literature,  and  that  God  has 
never  acted  save  throui^h  natural  laws.  When 
these  senseless  prejudices,  survivals  of  paganism 
and  ignorance,  are  removed,  all  who  love  their 
fellow-men  and  whose  religion  is  to  do  good  can 
unite  in  the  practical  worship  of  the  Church  uni- 
versal. 


THE  DECLINE  OF  THE  ISUNISTRY. 


From  many  quarters  arise  com[)laints  that  the 
number  of  younij^  men  in  |)reparation  for  the  min- 
istry is  continually  lesseninf;.  In  Eni^lantl,  it  is 
said  that  the  learninjj^  of  Oxford  and  Cambridi^^c 
diverts  their  graduates  from  the  Church  ;  and  in 
America,  we  are  told,  the  physics  of  the  colle^res 
indisposes  students  from  the  pursuit  of  metaphys- 
ics in  theolot^ical  seminaries.  It  appears  that  we 
are  called  to  consider  the  pros[)ect  of  an  important 
decline  in  the  supply  of  ministers,  and  it  is  there- 
fore timely  to  rellect  upon  its  causes  and  probable 
results. 

Those  who  habitually  sneer  at  the  ministerial 
profession,  and  devote  themselves  to  catalo<^uin;^ 
and  portrayinjj^  its  crimes,  do  injustice  to  a  bo<ly 
of  men  who  are  unsuri)assed  in  excellence  of  char- 
acter, social  virtue,  and  intellectual  culture,  and 
who  in  the  past  have  been  eminent  in  inlluences 
for  good.  What  may  seem  to  us  at  present  in- 
jurious in  their  methods  may  have  been  beneficial 
in  former  conditions  of  the  general  knowledge  and 
social  habits  of  the  people.  They  have  been  the 
trusted  counsellors  of  the  young,  the  consolers  of 
the  afflicted,  the  comforters  of  the  aged,  the  pro- 
moters of  all  charitable  eflbrt,  and  their  practical 


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3 


influence  of  late  years  has  usually  been  on  the  side 
of  human  advancement,  except  where  the  mainte- 
nance of  dogma  has  in  some  cases  interfered.     But* 
the  fact  remains  that  their  number  is  becoming 
proportionally  less. 

The  first  and  most  immediate  result  of  a  scar- 
city of  ministers  will  be  the  decline  of  sectarian- 
ism. This  will  proceed  from  two  causes.  First, 
Baptist,  Methodist,  and  Congregational  churches 
in  small  villages  will  be  led  by  economical  reasons 
to  unite.  Universalists  and  Unitarians  will  often, 
from  the  same  motives,  coalesce  ;  and  even  Epis- 
copalians may  consent  to  embrace  outsiders  in 
their  fold,  though  not  lik(ily  to  merge  their  organ- 
ization in  those  of  other  sects.  The  second  in- 
fluence is  the  same  that  causes  the  scarcity  of  min- 
isters,— the  growth  of  knowledge  that  destroys  be- 
lief in  the  dogmas  of  supernaturalism.  This  af- 
fects minister  and  people  alike,  leading  to  less  in- 
sistence upon  what  are  considered  non-essentials, 
and  creating  a  necessity  for  union  upon  the  cen- 
tral truths  vital  to  the  existence  of  the  Christian 
system,  in  order  to  resist  the  inroads  of  the  hosts 
of  rationalism.  A  continuation  of  this  process, 
now  perceptibly  progressing,  leads  logically  to  a 
future  existence  of  one  Protestant  Church  united 


in  a  struof<rle  for  existence. 

Some    significant    instances   of    this   spread   of 

loiiians 


modern  ideas  among  th( 


will  be  useful  in 


MMiMlriHa 


**«iilM*«wn««MrM»l**lM«teM«*AMAiHiJ«H«an4lfe«kdMta*M 


'r  -i  -irfiMifci  I  ■!  Mill 


•AuJMUiHMMlilM 


in 


5(1 


n 


T//£  DECLINE  OF  THE  MLXISTKY. 


>79 


illustration  of  the  tendency  of  the  Church  toward 
liberal  views  that  favor  the  union  of  sects.  A 
free  thinker  yielded  to  the  undent  desire  of  his 
friends  that  he  should  confer  with  an  eminent  doc- 
tor of  divinity,  thorou<;hly  versed  in  science  and 
philosophy,  and  competent  to  refute  modern  scep- 
ticism. With  trepidation,  he  entered  the  doctor's 
house  ;  but  the  genial  theologian  put  him  at  ease, 
and,  instead  of  criticising  scepticism,  proceeded  to 
utter  such  sentiments  as  these :  "  When  the  Ref- 
ormation came,  a  substitute  was  needed  for  the 
infallible  Church  of  Rome  as  a  rallying  point  and 
centre  of  faith  ;  and  the  disconnected  and  frag- 
mentary literature  of  the  Hebrews  was  elevated 
into  an  infallible  book.  This  Hibliolatry  must  be 
destroyed.  Men  need  to  learn  that  the  Bible  is 
not  a  book,  and  to  judge  of  its  contents  as  other 
writings  are  studied.  Intolerance  and  bigotry  arc 
founded  upon  this  false  estimate  of  the  authority 
of  the  Scriptures.  I  reject  the  supernatural  en- 
tirely. I  think  something  occurred  which  made 
the  Bible  writers  think  they  saw  what  they  de- 
scribed; but,  if  the  events  occurred,  they  were  in 
harmony  with  natural  law."  The  doctor  went  on 
to  make  light  of  the  dogma  of  eternal  punish- 
ment, and  to  deprecate  the  abuse  which  Chris- 
tians shower  upon  unbelievers  whose  reasons  they 
cither  lack  courage  or  intelligence  to  examine.  He 
said,  **  The  Church  is  gradually  coming  to  these 


i8o 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


i 
SI 

'ID 


views  upon  inspiration  and  Calvinistic  dogma; 
and  you  should  remain  in  the  Church,  and  help 
those  of  us  who  are  trying  to  bring  her  to  a  ra- 
tional position,  instead  of  attacking  it  from  out- 
side, where  you  have  but  little  influence." 

The  free  thinker  said,  "  Do  I  understand  that 
you  have  no  criticism  to  make  upon  my  doctrinal 
position,  but  only  upon  my  attitude  in  leaving  the 
Church  and  attacking  its  errors?" 

"  I  do,"  the  doctor  replied.  "You  are  substan- 
tially right,  and  the  Church  will  some  day  stand 
where  you  do;  but  it  will  be  a  long  time,  and  you 
do  not  want  to  associate  with  these  infidels  and 
low  fellows,  and  throw  away  your  influence." 

"But,"  said  the  free  thinker,  "where  are  your 
honesty  and  consistency  in  remaining  in  an  ortho- 
dox pulpit  ?" 

"  My  Church  has  no  creed,"  replied  the  doctor. 
"  You  could  state  your  views  to  your  pastor,  and 
yet  remain  in  association  with  the  Church."  He 
extolled  the  benefits  of  Christianity  as  a  system, 
and  pleaded  for  the  necessity  of  its  continuance  as 
an  oriranization  with  modified  beliefs. 

Another  orthodox  doctor  of  divinity  was  asked 
by  a  rationalist  to  give  his  views  of  the  inspiration 
of  the  Bible.  He  replied  as  follows :  "In  the  ev- 
olution of  the  human  mind,  the  Greeks  developed 
the  g'-eatest  aptitude  for  art,  the  Romans  for  law, 
and   the    Hebrews   for   religion.     As  I    accept   a 


THE  DECUXE  OF  THE  MIXISTRY. 


iSt 


Greek  statue  and  Roman  law,  so  I  take  the  rcli<T- 
ious  writings  of  the  Hebrews.  The  authority  of 
these  writings  is  not  in  their  origin,  but  in  their 
merits  ;  and  I  adopt  only  what  appeals  to  my  own 
consciousness  as  truth."  Some  remarks  excited  a 
question  as  to  the  doctor's  "soundness"  upon  the 
Trinity  and  the  deity  of  Christ,  and  he  went  on  to 
say  :  "  I  gave  up  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment 
twenty  years  ago.  I  don't  know  that  I  am  '  ortho- 
dox,' but  such  are  my  convictions.  I  do  not  state 
them  in  my  pulpit,  because  the  time  has  not  yet 
come,  and  the  people  are  not  prepared  for  such  ut- 
terances ;  but,  if  any  one  asks  my  opinions  in  pri- 
vate,  I  express  them  frankly." 

Both  these  good  men,  upon  prominent  occasions, 
Avhen  they  were  reported  widely  by  the  press,  made 
vehement    denunciations   of  extreme    rationalism, 
and  said  nothing  against  superstition.     Thus,  their 
status  among  the  orthodox  was  preserved  ;  and  the 
heresy  hunters,  who  already  were  on  their  tracks, 
were  turned  aside.     Some  may  call  them  hypocrites, 
but  they  are  not  consciously  insincere.     They  are 
most  estimable  men  ;  but  they  have  outgrown  the 
system  to  which  they  are  allied,  and  upon  which 
their  support  and  all  that  is  to  them  pleasant  in  life 
depends.      They  are  in  advance   of  their  people 
and  their  creeds ;  but  they  know  they  will  be  over- 
taken in  time,  and  prudence  suggests  patience  and 
accommodation   to  the  changing  age.      Perhaps 


Ifa 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAlTll. 


i 

Si 

S 
u 

s 


they  also  share  somewhat  in  the  considerate  temper 
of  another  orthodox  minister  of  high  repute,  who 
wrote  to  an  unbelieving  and  critical  correspondent : 
*'  I  do  without  any  concealment  declare  that  I  do 
not  believe  the  whole  Bible  to  be  true;  th'it  there 
'are  human  additions  and  interpolations;  that,  in 
fact,  Robertson  Smith  is  right  in  the  view  he  takes. 
Must  I  say  all  I  think  to  the  weak  and  stupid  pub- 
lic ?  for  such  it  is.  I  never  say  anything  I  dont 
believe.  I  only  act  on  Christ's  own  principle, — *  I 
have  many  things  to  say  unto  you,  but  you  cannot 
bear  them  now.*  Yes,  God  is  afraid  of  upsetting 
weak  minds,  if  Christ  echoed  the  divine  view  of 
thinirs  in  that  statement." 

Men  not  in  the  ministry  hesitate  to  enter  a  pro- 
fession where  such  suppression  of  conviction  is  a 
necessary  policy ;  but  it  is  perhaps  fortunate  that 
many  who  are  in  it  can  conscientiously  square  op- 
posed belief  and  profession,  as  they  save  themselves 
much  distress,  and  may  aid  in  the  slow  process  by 
wliich  nature  usually  acts  in  promoting  the  evolu- 
tion of  Ideas.  People  may  be  led  better  by  those  , 
a  little  ahead  of  them  than  by  those  far  in  advance. 
But,  unless  the  host  advances  rapidly,  near  leaders 
will  be  scarce ;  for  new  men  will  not  assume  such 
equivocal  positions. 

The  question  then  arises,  How  can  we  do  with- 
out ministers?  The  chief  offices  of  the  ministry 
are  in  connection  with  marriages,  funerals,  visita- 


THE  DFXr.LVE  OF  TJfF.  Af/X/sr/^V. 


i»3 


tions,  sacraments,  and  church  services.     What  sub- 
stitutes can  be  employed  ?     The  civil  magistrate 
can  secure  the  marriage  bond.     The  professional 
utterance  at  the  side  of  the  dead  will  either  not  be 
missed  by  the  mourners,  with  whom  each  word  at 
such  times  stirs  up  the  fountains  of  grief,  or  it  may 
be  acceptably  replaced  by  the  simple  tribute  of  a 
friend  and  comrade,  who  knew  the  departed  as  few 
ministers  ever  come  to  know  their  parishioners. 
Visitation  of  the  sick  can  be  more  agreeably  car- 
ried on  by  neighbors  and  friends,  who  now  often 
deprive  the  invalid  and  themselves  of  the  mutually 
beneficial  expression  of  sympathy  and  acts  of  kind- 
ness, because  that  is  considered  the  pastor's  sphere. 
Sacraments,  if  continued,  can  be  administered  by 
laymen.     Church  attendance  has  too  many  social 
attractions  to  be  given  up ;  and,  where  a  minister 
is  lacking,  the  services  might  be  conducted  after 
this  manner:  A   committee  should  be  formed  to 
control  them,  one  of  whom  should  in  turn  preside. 
The  music  could  be  indefinitely  improved ;  and  its 
sphere  and  character,  as  to  words,  tunes,  and  in- 
struments, enlarged     Readings  of  scriptures  from 
ancient  and  modern  authors  should  be  given  by 
young  people  of  both  sexes  who  possess  oratorical 
talent.     If  prayer  is  not  outgrown,  there  will  be 
always  good   brethren  "gifted"  in   that  respect, 
some  of  whom  may  even  exercise  the  somnolent 
influence  attending  "the  long  prayer."     But  how 


i84 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH, 


ft: 

2 
u 


can  the  sermon  be  replaced  ?  By  reading  a  printed 
discourse?  By  no  means.  Every  congregation 
possesses  thinking  and  cultured  men  with  good  ut- 
terance. Let  these  read  original  papers  upon  the 
themes  they  are  most  familiar  with,  the  subject  first 
being  approved  by  the  committee.  Let  there  be 
one  paper  of  half  an  hour's  length  at  each  service^ 
and  let  a  discussion  follow  for  another  half-hour  in 
five-minute  speeches.  At  the  close,  let  the  people 
linger  for  friendly  greetings.  Many  advantages 
will  be  gained  by  this  method.  Each  oerson's  mind 
runs  in  certain  directions  and  emphasizes  particular 
truths,  and  one  man's  instructions  must  lack  variety. 
How  many  churches  have  been  bored  by  their 
minister's  specialty  !  How  many  have  got  tired 
of  the  pre-millennial  advent,  election,  free  grace, 
eternal  punishment,  the  sinfulness  of  the  world,  or 
praises  of  its  progress,  when  one  of  these  things 
has  been  lugged  into  every  sermon  for  a  year ! 
Few  men  have  the  versatility  to  preach  instruct- 
ively to  the  same  people  continuously ;  or,  at  any 
rate,  people  are  benefited  by  receiving  truth  from 
varied  sources.  What  interest  would  be  felt  in 
each  new  speaker,  and  what  attention  would  be 
given  to  the  essay  in  anticipation  of  the  discussion  ! 
The  joys  of  church-going  would  still  exist :  the 
best  clothes  can  be  worn  and  seen  ;  the  invalid,  the 
baby,  the  absent,  can  be  inquired  for ;  the  new- 
comer can  be  observed ;  acquaintance  can  be  made 


,  •♦< 


THE  DECUXE  OF  THE  Mh\ISTRY. 


i8s 


that  othcnvise  would  never  be  formed  ;  differences 
healed  by  a  shake  of  the  hand  in  passinij  in  the 
aisle  or  porch  ;  and  Aiii^iistus  can  exchani^e  a  word 
or  glance  with  Mary  Jane,  which  will  make  his 
step  the  lighter  in  the  store  and  her  carol  the  live- 
lier in  the  house  throughout  the  week.  Perhaps, 
too,  with  the  absence  of  the  theologian,  theology 
will  disappear,  and  men  will  talk  of  what  they  knoio 
and  of  what  concerns  their  present  lives.  Salary 
will  be  saved,  and  independent  thought  secured 
from  men  whose  opinions  are  unbiassed  by  their 

pay. 

If,  then,  the  vicissitudes  of  time  deprive  us  of 
ministers,  we  may  still  hope  that  beneficent  nature 
will  supply  substitutes,  and  that  progress  and  hap- 
piness will  continue.  We  need  not  wait  till  the 
clerical  race  is  extinct  before  these  methods  are 
tried.  Any  pastorless  church  might  make  the  ex- 
periment, and,  while  saving  the  salary,  leave  one 
more  available  minister  to  supply  the  field.  Some 
Liberals,  in  whom  early  habit  has  confirmed  the 
church-going  instinct,  would  be  likely  to  resume 
church-going  under  such  secular  auspices. 


s 


THE  CONSOLATIONS  OF  CHRIS- 

TIANITY. 

It  is  often  asserted  that  the  unbeliever  in  Chris- 
tianity is  "without  hope  and  without  God  in  the 
world."  He  is  supposed  to  have  abandoned  all 
sources  of  comfort  in  affliction,  and  to  be  destitute 
of  joy  and  peace  in  his  meditations  and  aspira- 
tions. Does  observation  show  that  the  believer 
has  an  advantage  over  the  unbeliever  as  to  happi- 
ness? We  not  only  claim  that  this  is  not  the  case, 
but  that  the  rationalist  has  superior  grounds  for  a 
glad  and  hopeful  spirit. 

The  Christian  religion  fails  to  produce  the  re- 
sults claimed  for  it.  An  intelligent  physician 
states  that  he  has  witnessed  more  fear  of  death 
and  more  distress  upon  the  death-bed  among 
Christians  than  among  unbelievers.  He  says  he 
has  never  witnessed  a  painful  death  of  an  unbe- 
liever. His  explanation  is  that  Christians  contem- 
plate the  end  of  life  and  a  future  state  more  fre- 
quently, and  the  proofs  are  not  strong  enough  to 
allay  the  fears  that  these  meditations  arouse. 
Every  one  can  recall  aged  "  saints "  who  have 
lived  excellent  lives  and  have  always  been  devout 
and  prayerful,  yet  who  close  their  lives  in  gloom 
and  despondency.     One  of  the  most  notable  Chris- 


^mmm 


THE  COXSOLATIOXS  OF  CIIRISTIAXITY. 


187 


tian  women,  the  wife  of  a  Congregational  deacon, 
lately  died,  after  years  of  depression,  in  wliich  she 
lamented  her  lack  of  assurance  of  salvation.  Her 
son  met  the  son  of  her  pastor,  and  exclaimed, 
•*  My  poor  mother's  life  was  made  wretched  by 
that  infernal  theology  ! "  One  whose  especial  gift 
was  the  utterance  of  words  of  consolation,  and 
whose  written  words  are  often  presented  to  mourn- 
ers, while  expressing  resignation  to  his  own  trials, 
suffered  greatl)'  from  depression  of  spirits,  and  was 
unable  to  deliver  himself  from  continual  brooding 
over  his  troubles.  Many  a  saint  of  pious  speech 
and  unhappy  life  may  be  observed,  and  broken- 
hearted mourners  whose  words  of  submission  are 
belled  by  their  inconsolable  grief.  Se\eral  men 
of  brisfht  faith  whom  I  have  known,  who  could 
cast  their  cares  upon  Jesus  and  leave  all  the  bur- 
den with  him,  were  men  of  strong  physique  and 
sanguine  temperament.  Few  more  incongruous 
events  remain  in  my  memory  than  the  visit  of 
a  minister  of  extraordinary  physical  strength,  a 
sledge  hammer  preacher,  and  man  of  buoyant 
spirits,  to  a  lady  of  most  delicate  constitution,  but 
of  the  most  exquisite  and  refined  character  and 
cultivation,  and  the  distress  he  occasioned  by  the 
assertion  that  all  her  ailments  and  sorrows  were 
owing  to  lack  of  "  faith."  It  seems  demonstrable 
that  happiness  in  life  is  dependent  upon  health, 
inherited  temperament,   and   one's  surroundings,. 


i88 


THA  VELS  IN  FAITir. 


I 


s 


ft: 

2  \ 
o 


and  that  the  theories  of  the  Christian  religion 
never  triumph  over  an  adverse  combination  of 
these  particulars.  Many  think  they  get  comfort 
from  reh'gion,  because  during  the  rest  and  contem- 
plation of  Sunday  their  spirits  rise,  and  by  night 
their  "  faith  "  is  strong.  But  this  often  only  lasts 
till  Monday  noon,  by  which  time  the  cares  of  life 
have  consumed  their  "joy  in  the  Lord"  ;  and  they 
toil  on  for  the  rest  of  the  week  *'  bearinor  the 
cross,"  and  saying,  with  heavy  sighs,  "  Though  he 
slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  him."  It  was  not  the- 
ology, but  the  physical  recuperation  gained  by  a 
day  of  rest  that  enlivened  the  mind. 

Sorrow  comes  to  all,  and  only  time  allays  its  af- 
fliction. Mourners  grasp  at  alleviations,  and  try 
to  orain  comfort  from  the  sentiments  we  see  touch- 
ingly  expressed  in  obituary  notices  in  the  news- 
papers.    They  try  to  find  joy  in  the  thought, — 

"  Tlierc  was  in  lieaven  an  angel  band 
Tliat  was  not  quite  complete  : 
God  took  our  little  Mary  Ann 
To  fill  the  vacant  seat." 

Or  they  seek  peace  in  the  submissive  plaint, — 

"  Dearest  Tommy,  thou  hast  left  us. 
And  thy  loss  we  deeply  feel ; 
But  'tis  God  that  has  bereft  us. 
He  will  all  our  sorrows  heal." 

But  Still  the  vacant  chair,  the  little  empty  shoes, 
the  absent  laugh,  and  the  lost  endearing  caress 


THE  CONSOLATIONS  OF  CIIRISTIANITV. 


1S9 


cause  pangs  of  grief  that  only  subside  with  the 
lapse  of  years. 

It  often  only  aggravates  the  affliction  to  be  told 
that  God  has  arbitrarily  caused  it,  in  chastening 
love  or  in  judgment;  for  its  need  or  justice  is  not 
perceived,  and  the  spirit  rebels  against  such  severe 
treatment  and  fails  to  believe  in  its  necessity.  But 
where  disaster  is  seen  to  be  the  result  of  natural 
law,  that  death  comes  in  consequence  of  inherited 
or  acquired  weakness  or  by  reason  of  man's  imper- 
fect knowledge,  then  we  can  bow  to  the  inevitable, 
and  resolve  that  our  sad  experience  suall  be  a  fac- 
tor in  producing  a  more  rational  life  and  'i  mere 
eager  nursuit  of  the  laws  of  liealth  and  the  con- 
quest of  disease. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  affliction  that  the  Christian 
claims  superior  consolation  ;  he  asserts  that  his 
hope  of  heaven  sustains  his  spirits,  and  makes  him 
endure  present  ills.  Doubtless,  many  are  cheered 
by  these  thoughts  :  but  those  who  cannot  entertain 
them  find  they  have  been  delivered  from  a  selfish 
conceit,  that  sought  joy  in  an  exceptional  personal 
advantage,  and  ignored  an  inconceivable  amount 
of  woe  to  their  friends  and  neighbors.  If  a  person 
claims  he  has  gained  in  happiness  by  renouncing 
evangelical  religion,  he  is  accused  of  arrogance,  as 
implying  that  Christians  are  not  happy.  But  he 
does  not  assert  that  they  are  not  happy,  but  that 
they  have  no  right  to  be  so.     No  man  of  unselfish 


190 


TRA  VKLS  IX  FAITir, 


mind  and  tender  sensibility  can  be  happy  in  the 
assurance  of  salvation,  when  he  knows  that  good 
and  estimable  people  all  around  him  are  doomed 
to  eternal  damnation.  If  I  take  the  liberty  of  ex- 
pressing my  personal  sentiments,  I  shall  doubtless 
echo  the  feeling  of  many  others. 

In  the  past,  the  doctrines  of  Calvinism  have 
been  a  pall  upon  my  joy.  If  I  was  happy,  it  was 
in  spite  of  them  ;  and  often,  after  a  period  of  de- 
light in  innocent  recreation,  an  accusing  conscience 
has  reproached  me  with  the  inconsistency  of  mirth 
while  the  vast  procession  of  human  life  was  march- 
ing by  to  hell.  It  was  not  enough  that  I  was 
saved  :  I  wanted  my  equally  good  friends  to  be 
saved  also.  But  they  would  not  believe  the  doc- 
trines ;  and,  therefore,  nothing  remained  to  them 
but  *'  a  fearful  looking  for  of  judgment  and  fiery 
indignation."  God,  of  his  own  free  will,  had  elect- 
ed me  to  be  saved  and  had  left  them  to  perish, — 
not  that  I  was  any  better  than  they,  or  that  there 
was  any  reason  for  it  beyond  the  fact  of  this  de- 
cision •'  in  the  counsels  of  eternity."  I  have  no 
desire  to  be  made  so  marked  an  exception  to  "the 
wrath  of  God."  I  am  glad  to  cast  in  my  lot  with 
the  great  mass  of  intelligent  believers  in  and  prac- 
tisers  of  goodness.  I  desire  no  better  future  than 
what  they  deserve,  and  what  a  just  God  would 
give  them.  I  feel  like  apologizing  for  having 
wronged  them  in  the  past,  by  estimating  some  of 


TilE  CONSOLATIOXS  OF  CHRISTIAXITY. 


191 


the  best  and  noblest  of  earth  as  bein^  amontj  the 
damned.  I  feel  a  true  brotherhood  with  all  men 
now.  I  am  not  one  of  the  house  of  peers  whom 
God  has  chosen  to  monopolize  future  happiness, 
but  I  am  one  of  the  threat  mass  of  men  who  are 
eagerly  searching  to  know  the  right,  believe  the 
true,  and  do  the  good ;  and  my  future  is  safe,  no 
matter  how  unable  my  intellect  is  to  grasp  the 
dojxmas  of  the  **  Christian  r\ithers."  A  sense  of 
companionship  with  good  men  of  all  races  and 
creeds  gives  a  feeling  of  joy  which  membership 
with  the  "elect"  fails  to  impart  to  an  unselfish 
mind.  No  conscientious  man  can  be  truly  happy 
except  by  ignoring  the  doctrine  of  future  everlast- 
ing punishment ;  and,  if  it  is  true,  it  is  wrong  to 
ignore  it. 

The  effect  of  "  trust  in  God  "  is  offset  by  "  fear 
of  God."  A  belief  in  a  superintending  Providence 
that  arbitrarily  decides  the  issues  of  life  is  not  pro- 
motive of  peace  of  mind.  One  never  knows  what 
the  will  of  God  may  decree  next,  and  an  element 
of  uncertainty  is  introduced  into  human  affairs 
beyond  the  elements  of  cause  and  effect.  The 
Christian  labors  with  the  dread  that,  at  any  mo- 
ment, God  may  thwart  his  efforts  in  "love"  or 
"wrath,"  and  give  the  success  to  some  scoundrel, 
apparently  unworthy  of  favors.  The  rationalist 
believes  that,  unless  some  natural  impediment  oc- 
curs, his  work  will  prosper.     If  it  fails,  it  was  the 


\\ 


•^-^ 


192 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


i 

s 


result  of  individual  fault  or  human  ignorance.  He 
recognizes  the  present  limits  of  man's  knowledge 
and  foresight,  and  works  in  submission  to  these 
restrictions ;  but  he  has  no  dread  of  an  inexplica- 
ble miraculous  upsetting  of  his  plans.  The  true 
**  peace  of  God  that  passeth  understanding"  lies  in 
the  recoo^nition  of  law  and  order  in  the  universe, 
never  interfered  with  by  arbitrary  and  irresponsi- 
ble acts. 

Christianity,  when  consistently  interpreted,  as- 
sures its  followers  of  tribulation  in  this  world,  and 
the  hopelessness  of  all  efforts  to  advance  the 
moral  welfare  of  the  human  race.  The  teachings 
of  Jesus  and  Paul  are  pessimistic.  Things  are  to 
wax  worse  and  worse  till  the  coming  of  Christ  to 
destroy  the  world,  out  of  which  he  saves  his  cho- 
sen few.  It  is  the  Christian  then  who  is  without 
hope  in  the  world.  His  consolations  are  wholly 
in  another  world,  the  existence  of  which  has 
never  been  made  apparent  to  any  other  sense  than 
**  fa'tii," — that  is,  imagination. 

The  believer  in  natural  law  and  its  continuous 
workinuf  through  evolution  has  gfrand  assurance 
of  infinite  progress  and  a  hopeful  future  for  his 
race. 

One  who  has  escaped  from  belief  that  God 
curses  his  children,  damns  just  men,  and  waits  to 
destroy  the  world  in  vengeance,  and  sees,  instead, 
an  Infinite  Power  working  forever  through  unin- 


■ 


.  I 


THE  COXaCLATIOXS  OF  CIIKISTIAXITY. 


»93 


terrupted  cause  and  effect  toward  the  increasing 
development  of  man  in  righteousness,  knowledge, 
and  control  of  the  universe, — he  possesses  a  con- 
solation and  inspiration  that  makes  life  worth  liv- 
ing. 
n 


MATERIAL  IMMORTALITY. 


A    DREAM. 


I  WAS  walking  hand  in  hand  with  a  friend  along 
the  busy  street  of  a  large  city.  Unconscious  of 
passers-by  and  with  a  pleasing  sense  of  mutual  un- 
derstanding and  sympathy,  I  easily  uttered  these 
thoughts  : — 

"  We  have  a  passion  for  usefulness.  Each  day, 
our  chief  desire  is  to  have  made  others  better  and 
happier,  and  to  have  made  a  record  upon  the  world 
that  will  htst  and  produce  ever-increasing  results 
for  good.  Our  hope  of  immortality  is  not  for  a 
life  of  ease  or  spiritual  rapture,  but  for  a  career  of 
unceasing  beneficence. 

"  But  suppose  there  is  no  distinct  individual  ex- 
istence beyond  this  life,  shall  we  not  live  mate- 
rially ?  Matter  is  indestructible,  and  will  exist  for- 
ever. These  atoms  that  compose  our  bodies  have, 
therefore,  eternal  life.  They  will  scatter  about  the 
universe  and  assume  an  infinite  variety  of  forms, 
but  our  ownership  of  them  and  identity  with  them 
will  never  be  erased.  We  profess  to  love  good  for 
its  own  sake,  not  for  its  results  to  ourselves.     It  is, 


MATERIAL  IMMORTALITY. 


•95 


therefore,  a  satisfaction  now  to  think  of  the  unend- 
ing influence  of  our  bodiep.,  even  though  no  pleas- 
urable consciousness  ever  comes  to  us  in  eternity. 
Atoms  from  our  bodies  may  in  future  be  parts  of 
the  most  beautiful  flowers,  the  largest  trees,  the 
grandest  mountains,  valuable  gems,  powerful  ma- 
•  chinery,  useful  chemical  combinations,  the  finest 
animals,  the  most  beautiful  women,  the  noblest 
men.  We  may  be  represented  in  all  the  most 
charming  forms  and  grandest  enterprises  of  the  fu- 
ture. 

**  But  it  may  be  that  mind  and  matter  are  not 
two  distinct  entities,  and  that  mind  is  an  eternal 
property  of  matter,  and  each  atom  is  a  living,  con- 
scious soul.     The  union  of  their  sensations  consti- 
tutes what  we  call  our  minds  ;  but,  when  separated, 
they  may  each  still  have  consciousness,  and  feel  an 
intelligent  sensation  of  their  surroundings.     Sup- 
pose we  thus  live  forever,  having  a  distinct  con- 
scious existence  in  these  numberless  atoms,  how  is 
our  life  multiplied  by  death  ?     And  not  only  by 
death.     Every  seven  years,  our  bodies   are  com- 
pletely changed.     Each  moment,  some  atoms  leave 
us  and  others  join  us.     Think  of  the  diffusion  of  a 
body  in  a  long  life!     Who  could  count  our  exist- 
ences I     Perhaps  these  atoms  are  influenced  by  the 
characteristics  of  the  body  they  join,  and  our  high 
or  low  moral  condition  is  thus  perpetuated.     What 
an  inducement  to  strive  for  perfection,  if  our  sen- 


196 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


3 


S  ! 

u  : 


sations  are  to  be  multiplied  by  millions  of  exist- 
ences!" 

"But,"  said  my  companion,  "these  atoms  have 
been  in  other  bodies  before  they  were  in  ours. 
How  can  we  claim  that  they  represent  us  exclu- 
sively in  the  future?  " 

"Probably  not  exclusively,"  I  replied.  "Each 
atom  may  receive  new  characteristics  from  the  or- 
ganism it  inhabits,  and  may  become  more  or  less 
adapted  for  future  service  by  the  latest  influence. 
Each  atom  may  represent  the  average  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  human  beings  with  which  it  has  been 
associated.  Perhaps,  atoms  passing  through  a 
series  of  bodies  of  the  highest  quality  may  combine 
into  richer  grass,  heavier  wheat,  more  vigorous 
plants,  more  active  brains ;  and  thus,  as  man  im- 
proves, all  else  in  nature  will  be  benefited,  and 
through  man's  elevation  the  bondage  in  which  cre- 
ation groans  and  travails  will  be  changed  into 'the 
glorious  liberty  of  the  children  of  God*;  that  is, 
perfection." 


LIBERAL  CONVICTIONS. 


Some  say  there  is  no  excuse  for  the  utterance  of 
liberal  views,  as  they  merely  destroy  faith  and  give 
nothing  in  the  place  of  it.  They  remove  certain 
restraints  and  give  license  to  the  passions.  The 
atrocities  of  the  French  Revolution  are  the  favor- 
ite illustration  of  this  argument.  Addison  says, 
Spectator y  No.  iS6:  "A  believer  may  be  excused 
by  the  most  hardened  atheist  for  endeavoring  to 
make  him  a  convert,  because  he  does  it  with  an 
eye  to  both  their  interests.  The  atheist  is  inexcus- 
able who  tries  to  cfain  over  a  believer,  because  he 
does  not  propose  the  doing  himself  or  believer  any 
good  by  such  a  conversion.  Why  will  any  man  be 
so  impertinently  officious  as  to  tell  me  all  this  (the 
prospect  of  a  future  state)  is  only  fancy  and  delu- 
sion ?  If  it  is  a  dream,  let  me  enjoy  it,  since  it 
makes  me  both  the  happier  and  better  man." 

These  reasons  have  opposed  all  progress  in  the 
past.  If  a  building  is  unsafe,  it  may  be  torn  down 
before  the  plans  of  the  new  edifice  are  wholly  com- 
pleted. If  a  beacon  is  false,  let  it  be  removed, 
oven  before  the  true  lighc-house  can  be  built.  If  a 
belief  that  God  wrote  the  Bible  is  untrue,  and  is 
moreover  debasing  to  the  intellect,  let  it  be  over- 
thrown.    If  it  is  false  that  God  of  his  own  free  will 


*9» 


TKAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


i 

I 

I*  • 

Hi  I 


has  elected  some  to  everlasting  life,  and  left  the 
vast  multitude  of  his  creatures  to  suffer  endless 
torment  in  hell,  and  if  these  ideas  are  injurious  to 
both  mind  and  heart,  destroy  them  !  The  sooner 
the  better.  The  abolition  of  slavery  was  opposed 
'by  good  and  wise  men,  because  freedom  would  lead 
to  license.  Did  this  idea  stop  the  anti-slavery 
party  ?  The  event  proved  the  truth  of  the  objec- 
tion. The  ignorant  negro  became  the  prey  of  the 
politicians  who  wanted  his  vote  ;  and,  trusting  in 
their  promise  that  the  government  would  give  to 
each  man  forty  acres  of  land  and  a  mule,  he  aban- 
doned himself  to  the  license  of  laziness,  which  he 
considered  the  essence  of  **  freedery,"  until  the  in- 
exorable logic  of  hunger  and  suffering  taught  him 
that  true  freedom  was  liberty  to  work  and  do  right. 
He  soon  learned  the  ksson  ;  and  the  doubled  pro- 
duction of  the  South  and  its  good  order  now  prove 
that  freedom  is  not  a  curse. 

The  liberal  does  proposfi  doing  good  to  the  be- 
liever. He  claims  that  all  error  is  hurtful,  and  had 
better  be  abandoned.  He  believes  that  truth  al- 
ways works  for  good  in  the  end,  and  can  be  safely 
left  to  take  care  of  itself.  He  has  not  got  to  build 
a  track  for  truth  to  run  on.  The  men,  who  now 
are  restrained  from  evil  only  by  servile  fear,  may 
••  have  their  fling"  when  these  bonds  are  removed  ; 
but,  in  the  school  of  experience,  they  would  soon 
learn  the  utility  of  goodness,  and  be  better  men 


LIBERAL  COM '/CT/OXS. 


199 


when  they  have  learned  to  do  well  for  higher  mo- 
tives than  the  dread  of  hell.  If  the  motive  is  only 
the  present  good  of  themselves  and  others,  it  is  a 
far  better  one.  Goldsmith,  in  the  **  Vicar  of  Wake- 
field," says  "  that  virtue  which  requires  to  be  ever 
•  guarded  is  scarcely  worth  the  sentinel." 

I3ut  the  advanced  "  higher  life  Christian,"  with 
whom  the  fear  of  future  punishment  is  not  an  in- 
fluence, but  who  from  love  to  God  delights  to  do 
his  will,  even  he  need  fear  no  loss  in  motives  :  his 
devotion  to  4'wr/may  continue,  and  his  life  be  in- 
spired by  the  same  high  enthusiasm.     The  name 
of  his  object  of  adoration  will  be  only  altered  by 
the  addition  of  one  letter;  and  while  retaininir  all 
that  is  desirable  in  his  conception  of  the  first,  he 
will  add  to  it  utility  and  the  impossibility  of  criti- 
cal detraction.     Whoever  promotes  thc/^ood  blesses 
the  human  race  :  whoever  praises  Cof/  llatters  an 
imagined   existence,  whose  receipt  of  benefit  can 
never  be  proved. 

We,  therefore,  do  not  shrink  from  endeavorinir 
to  destroy  faith  in  the  dogmas  of  Christian  the- 
ology, because  we  are  convinced  that  belief  in  the 
Bible  story  of  creation,  which  hindered  the  ideas 
of  Copernicus  and  Galileo,  and  has  opposed  all 
progress  of  "  earth  knowledge"  in  the  past,  still 
prevents  the  intellectual  growth  of  man,  and  the 
improvement  of  his  circumstances  by  the  discov- 
ery of  the  laws  regulating  the  forces  of   nature. 


200 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


The  works  of  Danvin,  Wallace,  Tyndall,  Huxley, 
and  others,  are  called  "the  miserable  speculations 
of  infidel  scientists  " ;  their  books  will  not  be  read, 
and,  when  one  is  urged  to  read  the  writings  of  the 
greatest  men  of  our  age,  it  is  answered,  "  Moses  and 
Paul  are  my  great  men."  The  devout  and  intense 
Christian  pietists  of  to-day  do  not  dare  to  read  sci- 
entific books,  lest  their  faith  should  be  shaken,  and 
these  should  prove  more  than  a  match  for  the  writ- 
ings of  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  say:  "There  is 
nothing  positive  about  the  so-called  discoveries  of 
science.  Sir  John  Lubbock  now  has  contradicted 
Richard  Proctor's  theory  that  the  earth  will  grow 
cold.  We  will  wait  until  science  comes  back  to 
Moses,  as  it  is  sure  to  do."  Those  who  remove 
this  barrier  to  the  advance  of  knowledge  are  doing 
good  service,  though  accused  of  not  doing  God 
service. 

We  are  convinced  that  a  belief  that  all  the  atro- 
cious cruelties  of  the  Hebrew  wars,  which  those 
barbarous  Israelites  endeavored  to  excuse  them- 
selves for,  by  attributing  them  to  the  command  of 
God,  were  really  sanctioned  and  ordered  by  a  be- 
ing of  infinite  perfection,  is  injurious  to  morals, 
and  has  been  the  warrant  for  untold  butcheries 
committed  during  wars  waged  in  the  name  of  God. 
No  one  need  hesitate  to  destroy  that  dogma 
through  fear  that  the  v/orld  will  grow  worse,  if  its 


<4 


restraint "  is  removed. 


LIliERAL  COXVICTIOXS. 


:oi 


We  are  convinced  that  a  belief  in  all  the  wonder 
tales  of  the  Bible,  which  are  paralleled  or  improved 
upon  in  every  literature,  keeps  the  mind  in  a  child- 
ish condition  ;  and  that  it  is  necessary  to  mental 
growth  that  the  Hebrew  fables  and  fairy  tales 
should  be  placed  where  the  myths  of  all  other  na- 
tions have  already  been  put  by  intelligent  men. 
Credulity  has  been  slow  in  dying,  but  that  is  all 
the  more  reason  why  the  loosening  of  its  puerile 
"  restraint  "  should  be  hastened.  How  can  man- 
kind be  hurt  by  believing  that  Samson  and  Joshua 
and  Jonah  are  brethren  of  Hercules  and  Agamem- 
non and  Arion  ? 

We  are  convinced  that  the  sublime  or  ravinof  ut- 
terances  of  Hebrew  prophets  are  not  God's  vehi- 
cle of  communicating  the  events  of  the  future  to 
this  generation,  and  the  belief  that  it  is  so  leads 
to  a  vast  waste  of  intellectual  effort  in  sophistical 
reasoning  and  crazy  imagination.  It  has  been  a 
curse  to  the  human  mind,  giving  men  a  low  stand- 
ard of  the  mind  and  nature  of  a  God  who  w\'\s  anx- 
ious to  reveal  something  to  them,  and  could  find 
no  better  way  of  doing  it  than  through  disgusting 
symbols  and  unintelligible  rhapsodies.  This  "  re- 
straint "  can  well  be  spared,  and  the  reaction  from 
mysticism  to  light  will  not  make  men  stumble. 

We  are  convinced  that  the  assertion  that  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  are  the  genuine  au- 
thentic writings  of  men  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 


202 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAJTIi. 


3 


1 

I 


and  therefore  incapable  of  error,  is  not  only  false^ 
but  positively  injurious  ;  for  the  evidences  are 
mainly  drawn  from  the  obscure,  doubtful,  garbled, 
and  contradictory  writings  of  fallible  and  often  ig- 
norant and  credulous  men,  called  Christian  Fathers. 
The  investigation  of  these  evidences  is  impossible 
except  to  a  few  scholars  ;  and  it  has  made  the  great 
body  of  Christians  the  intellectual  slaves  of  a  hier- 
archy, who  in  the  past  have  taken  advantage  of 
their  power  to  impose  all  manner  of  dogmas  and 
miracles  upon  the  belief  of  their  followers,  in  the 
name  of  the  Christian  Fathers.  God  will  reveal 
himself  to  ;;/r,  when  he  wants  me  to  know  some- 
thing, and  not  imperil  my  reception  of  **  the  pure 
truth  "  by  letting  it  roll  around  the  cells  and  gar- 
rets of  superstition,  until  prescribed  to  me  by  a 
learned  doctor  as  the  real  and  only  genuine  rem- 
edy ;  and  I  must  swallow  it  on  his  authority,  or  die 
eternally.  Men  will  only  truly  think  for  them- 
selves when  they  learn  that  the  evidences  of 
"God's  truth"  are  all  around  them,  not  in  musty 
manuscripts,  copied,  altered,  erased,  defaced,  and 
"  restored,"  but  in  the  i^lorious  book  of  nature, 
which  admits  of  no  forgery,  no  erasure,  no  lie. 
This  "restraint"  it  is  safe  to  the  intellect  tore- 
move. 

We  are  convinced  that  the  story  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  is  largely  composed  of  the  traditions  of  a 
credulous  age  ;  that  his  resurrection  and  ascension 


of 


LIBERAL  COXVJCTIONS.  ^oj 

are  mere  myths  ;  that  the  historical  evidence  of  his 
existence  is  very  meagre,  and  is  entirely  opposed 
to  the  prominence  given  to  him  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment.    The  passages  chieHy  relied   upon    in    the 
works  of  contemporary  historians  to  prove  his  life 
are  now  admitted  to  be  forgeries,  notably  the  pas- 
sage in  Josephus.     The  various  Epistles  may  be 
genuine  or  not :  the  evidence  is  so  conflicting,  ex- 
cept for  a  few  of  Paul's  Epistles,  that  no  one  should 
be  asked  to  let  his  eternal  salvation  rest  upon  them. 
The  writers  were  fallible  men,  and  their   unsup- 
ported test  .r.ony  is  not  sufiicient  to  prove  the  mi- 
raculous against  the  experience  of  the  world.     It 
is  easier  to  believe  they  were  mistaken.     All  that 
is  good  for  restraint  still  remains  to  us,  and  needs 
no  authority  of  "  inspiration  "  to  enforce  it. 

We  are  convinced  that  it  is  contrary  to  all  moral 
ideas  to  teach  that  the  guilty  may  be  pardoned, 
because  the  innocent  have  suffered.  The  idea  of 
the  sacrifice  of  life,  whether  of  brute  or  man,  for 
"the  salvation  of  souls,"  is  a  wicked  and  hurtful 
notion.  It  has  led  to  countless  atrocities,  and  still 
works  evil,  leading  the  Pocasset  Christian  to  strike 
his  knife  to  the  heart  of  his  little  girl,  and  proba- 
bly influencing  the  assassin  of  the  President  in  his 
wicked  deed.  Jesus  was  put  to  death  by  the  Jews 
on  the  charge  of  sedition  and  blasphemy.  He 
tried  to  avoid  it,  but  was  betrayed  by  Judas.  How 
this  can  be  made  an  offering  by  God  of  his  son  for 


304 


TKA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


II 


I 
SI 

I 
u 


the  sins  of  the  world  is  past  comprehension.  We 
have  no  fear  that  men  will  be  worse,  if  they  lose 
the  restraint  of  the  idea  that  God,  in  all  ages,  has 
demanded  the  blood  of  the  innocent  as  the  condi- 
tion of  forgiveness  of  the  guilty. 

We  are  convinced  that  the  doctrine  of  hell  is  an 
atrocious  slander  upon  the  character  of  God,  and 
is  not  generally  believed  by  thinking  men  in  its 
connection  with  people  that  they  know.  An  emi- 
nent orthodox  minister,  the  head  of  a  theological 
seminary,  lately  said  to  a  circle  of  friends,  "  I  do 
not  believe  the  doctrine  of  eternal  punishment, 
and  I  do  not  know  a  man  who  does."  And  yet  it 
stands  in  the  creeds,  and  men  profess  to  believe  it ! 
A  degraded  idea  of  God  is  degrading  to  man,  for 
"like  master  like  man."  Though  it  has  had  some 
restraining  influence  in  the  past,  the  dread  of  hell 
exercises  but  little  restraint  now  upon  thinking 
men  ;  and,  where  it  acts,  it  is  an  unworthy  motive, 
and  produces  servility.  It  has  been  the  warrant 
for  torture  and  massacre  all  through  the  ages  ;  for 
may  not  men  do  just  a  little  of  what  God  does  a 
good  deal  ?  If  the  Bible  does  not  teach  it,  then 
God's  word  has  misled  his  people  for  eighteen  cent- 
uries ;  and  the  Holy  Ghost  has  been  "  leading 
into  all "  error,  and  it  is  not  a  safe  guide,  for  the 
next  generation  may  prove  it  spoke  falsely  to  us 
about  somethinof  else. 

We  are  convinced  that  the  Oible  teaching,  as  to 


LIBERAL  COXl'ICTIOXS. 


205 


the  present  and  future  condition  of  the  world,  is 
utterly  subversive   of  progress,   and   that  all  im- 
provement is  made  in  spite  of  it.     Christians  do 
not  generally  believe  it  now,  because  it  is  so  re- 
pugnant to  modern  intelligence  ;  but  there  it  is  in 
the  Bible.     AH  Christians  used  to  believe  it,  and 
some   do   still.      Things   are    to   wax   worse   and 
worse,  so  that  Jesus  asks,  "  When  the  Son  of  Man 
Cometh,  shall  he  find  faith  on  the  earth?"     The 
world,  and  all  that  is  therein,  shall  be  burned  up. 
The  early  Christians,   therefore,   sought   "a  city 
that  had  foundations,"  and  taught  the  despising 
and  forsaking  of  this  world.     When  this  restraint 
is  removed,  men  will  become  better  citizens  ;  and, 
feeling  that  they  are  not  working  merely  to  feed 
the  (lames  of  judgment,  they  will  show  more  en- 
thusiasm about  improving  the  world. 

We  are  convinced  that  all  belief  in  the  miracu- 
lous is  a  drag  upon  men's  efforts,  and  enfeebliuL^- 
to  their  minds.  Instead  of  trusting  to  prayer  and 
ignoring  the  glorious  faculties  men  possess,  this 
restraint  disappearing,  each  will  strive  "to  do  his 
level  best,"  and  feel  there  is  no  region  into  which 
his  mind  may  not  probe,  and,  proving  all  things, 
hold  fast  only  that  which  he  sens  for  himself  is  good. 
Jesus  promised  that  the  Holy  Spirit  should  lead 
his  disciples  into  all  truth,  but  his  followers  have 
differed  and  quarrelled  ever  since.  He  promised 
that  prayer  in  his  name  should  be  answered,  but 


\M\ 


306 


THA  I'ELS  LV  FAITH, 


the  failures  have  at  least  equalled  the  fulfilments. 
He  led  his  followers  to  expect  his  return  to  earth 
during  their  lifetime,  but  the  hope  proved  fruitless. 
This  disproves  his  infallibility. 

These  are  points  upon  which  all  readers  of  the 
Bible  can  judge  for  themselves.  We  find  that 
many  scholars  regard  these  stories  as  legendary : 
we  may  not  be  learned  enough  to  weigh  the  evi- 
dence of  this  for  ourselves,  but,  as  their  conclusion 
airrees  with  the  internal  evidences  above  mention- 
ed,  it  appears  the  most  plausible.  While  a  respect- 
able number  of  learned  men  on  scholarly  grounds 
deny  the  authenticity  and  genuineness  of  the  Gos- 
pels, we  are  warranted  in  rejecting  any  of  the  doc- 
trines taught  therein  which  our  reason  disapproves. 

In  renouncing  the  errors  of  theology,  do  we  give 
up  anything  tliat  is  valuable  in  Christianity,  or  that 
the  moral  sense  of  the  world  pronounces  good  ? 
A  thousand  times  no.  We  throw  overboard  the 
pagan  rubbish  and  barbarous  superstition  that 
have  incrusted  the  truth,  that  men  have  discovered 
in  ages  of  experience  of  joy  and  sorrow,  or,  in 
other  words,  of  good  and  evil.  The  truth  remains 
to  all.  Christianity  has  never  had  a  monopoly  of 
it,  and  theologians  do  not  control  it  now.  We 
lose  no  hold  of  "  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faith,  meekness,  temper- 
ance " ;  but  we  elevate  them  from  the  sphere  of 
bondage  to  that  of  liberty. 


REFORM. 

However  men  may  differ  in  theories  concerning 
the   past   and  the   future,  they  are  substantially 
agreed  as  to  the  practical  needs  of  the  present.     A 
great  problem  faces  us,  the  improvement  of  the 
world.     The  men  of  science,  by  study  of  nature's 
methods,  are  assisting  material  progress ;  but  the 
sinfulness  or  imperfection  of  man  is  ever  apparent, 
and  good  men  of  every  religious  creed  and  those 
who  have  no  creed  are  alike  striving  to  make  men 
better  individually,  and  to  improve  their  social  con- 
ditions.    This    motive  has  been    supposed    to  be 
monopolized  by  religious  people  ;  and  the  common 
taunt  to  the  unbeliever,  when  argument  fails,   is 
still,  Your  ideasareonly  destructive,  and  construct- 
ive ideas  are  what  the  world  wants.     But  it  has  to 
be  admitted  that  unbelievers  are  among  the  chief 
promoters  of  the  welfare  of  society  ;  and  the  can- 
did observer  must  confess  that  all  good  men,  Chris- 
tian  and  Agnostic  alike,  in  the  concerns  of  this 
world,  are  united  towarc^  one  practical  end.     All 
see  the  evils  of  crime,  intemperance,  and  poverty,     . 
and  equally  desire  to  alleviate  them.     The  differ- 
ence between  the  workers  is  not  in  their  aims,  but 
in  their  methods.     Christians  seek  reform  super- 
naturally:  rationalists  seek  it  naturally. 


20S 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


ft 
3 


I. 


The  demand  for  constructive  effort  is  a  just  one ; 
and,  if  radicalism  only  tears  down,  it  lacks  the  ele- 
ment that  will  commend  it  enduringly  to  society. 
Let  us  see  if  the  methods  of  the  rationalist  will  com- 
pare with  those  of  the  Christian.     The  cross  of 
Christ  is  the  great  remedy  of  the  Christian.     If  a 
man  is  evil,  he  is  taught  that,  by  an  emotional  con- 
sideration of   the  death    of  Jesus,  a  supernatural 
change  is  wrought  upon  his  nature,  which  will  ena- 
ble him  to  be  <rood  henceforth.     This  effect  is  often 
produced,  and  in  many  cases  is  lasting;  but  more 
often,  when  the  emotion  has  subsided,  evil  practices 
are  resumed.     Under  the  stimulus  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  men  resolve  to  reform  their  lives  ;  but  feel- 
ing declines,  and  temptations  conquer.     Has  the 
rationalist  a  better  method  of  reform  ?     He  believes 
that  reason  is  a  more  lasting  influence  than  emo- 
tion ;  that  the  prospect  of  present  benefit  is  more 
potent  than  the  hope  of  future  reward  ;  that,  as 
material  progress  is  gained  by  the  study  of  nature, 
so  moral  and  mental  advance  is  to  come  by  the 
study  of  man's  history  and  habits,  and  by  observa- 
tion of  nature's  methods  of  development.     He  sees 
that  evil  arises  from  iijnorance  of  natural  law,  or 
from  non-conformity  to  its  teachings.     Therefore, 
the  remedy  is   suggested  by  the  cause.     Knowl- 
edge of  "man's  place  in  nature,"  and  understand- 
ing of  the  physical  forces  that  affect  his  welfare 
will  supply  tile  sources  of  improvement. 


( (I 


flEfOA'M. 


:ot> 


Education,  then,  is  the  remedy  of  the  rational- 
ist :  regeneration  is  the  remedy  of  the  Christian. 
The  latter  has  had  a  long  trial,  and  has  doubtless 
won  trophies.  The  very  fact  of  its  birth  and  con- 
tinuance proves  that  it  had  some  adaptedness  to 
the  circumstances  that  called  it  forth  from  men's 
minds,  and  it  has  been  serviceable  under  the  exist- 
ing conditions  in  the  past.  Its  success,  however, 
•  ::,  not  such  as  to  commend  it  as  a  panacea  for  ill, 
nor  for  any  application  in  the  future  to  intelligent 
minds.  Ignorance  is  alike  the  mother  of  devotion 
and  the  mother  of  crime.  The  least  instructed 
people  are  the  most  religious  and  the  most  vicious. 
Lange,  in  "History  of  Materialism,"  says,  "En- 
lightenment and  education,  as  a  rule,  go  hand  in 
,  hand  with  a  decrease  of  the  clergy  in  relative 
numbers  and  influence ";  and  "the  diminution  of 
crime  corresponds  with  the  diminution  of  super- 
stition, which  is  inseparably  connected  with  the 
worship  of  the  letter." 

Education  in  a  broad  sense  is  of  recent  birth, 
and  is  yet  in  its  infancy;  yet  its  fruits  arc  undeni- 
ably good.  Instruction  has  been  limited  to  the 
acquisition  of  ancient  ideas ;  but,  since  three  hun- 
dred years  past,  it  has  been  gradually  expanding 
to  embrace  what  the  Germans  call  "earth  knowl- 
edge," which  is  gained  by  direct  study  of  nature's 
operations  and  conditions.  Social  progress  is  co- 
incident with  this  advance.         . 


««■ 


J 10 


THA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


ft 

i 

SI 

if 

I' 
si 


But  let  us  apply  these  principles  to  the  vexed 
questions  of  the  day,  and  see  which  method  is  best 
adapted  to  reform.  The  most  prominent  topics  of 
concern  are  capital  and  labor,  intemperance,  crime, 
and  the  relations  of  the  sexes.  What  is  the  Chris- 
tian method  of  dealing  with  poverty  ?  By  Chris- 
tian, we  mean  the  methods  taught  in  the  New 
Testament.  Intelligent  Christians  have  generally 
abandoned  these  and  adopt  rational  methods,  but 
they  have  no  right  to  credit  these  to  Christianity. 
Jesus  and  the  apostles,  in  view  of  the  expected 
closing  of  the  age,  commended  poverty,  rebuked 
riches,  ordered  the  distribution  of  wealth,  the  lend- 
ing of  money  without  asking  for  repayment,  and 
the  practice  of  communism.  Rationalists  say  pov- 
erty is  a  curse,  strive  to  gain  riches,  secure  your 
individual  comfort,  keep  your  possessions  except 
when  you  can  do  more  good  by  parting  with  them  ; 
giving  degrades  the  receiver,  and  injures  his  future 
efficiency  ;  nature  teaches  *'  nothing  without  labor," 
and  men  must  toil  for  what  they  would  enjoy. 
Hut  they  see  also  the  interdependence  of  men, 
that  true  self-interest  demands  the  advancement 
of  one's  neighbor,  that  the  employer's  welfare  is 
promoted  by  the  prosperity  of  the  employed,  that 
a  grasping  selfishness  injures  him  who  exercises  it, 
and  they  would  educate  men  to  far-seeing  views  of 
trade  nnd  wealth.  They  would  show  that  nature 
indi      •  \  ^Iiat  general  prosperity  is  promoted  by 


mmMM 


KEFOrM. 


!II 


freedom  of  trade,  co-operation  in  production,  the 
discouragement  of  pauperism  by  the  promotion  of 
inducements  to  industry,  and  thus  by  purely  ma- 
terial considerations  they  would  lead  to  prosperity 
rather  than  by  abstract  didactic  inculcations  based 
upon  self-sacrifice  through  devotion  to  Jesus.  They 
claim  that  the  more  nature's  methods  are  studied 
the  more  clearly  it  is  shown  that  the  truth  and 
lasting  welfare  of  each  individual  is  identical  with 
the  welfare  of  the  community  in  which  he  dwells, 
and  that  the  prosperity  of  each  community  is  con- 
nected with  the  thrift  of  other  communities.  They 
believe  that  enlarged  knowledge  will  promote  a 
more  efficient  benevolence  springing  from  motives 
of  worldly  self-interest  than  has  been  obtained  by 
the  principle  of  self-sacrifice  for  a  heavenly  crown 
or  through  emotional  "  love  of  God." 

Intemperance  is  consistently  combated  by  the 
Christian  through  conversion  and  prohibition. 
Drunkards  arc  reclaimed  by  the  stimulus  of  con- 
secrated vows  and  by  the  impossibility  of  indul- 
gence. But  both  experiences  are  rare.  The  vows 
lose  force,  and  seeming  impossibilities  are  over- 
come. The  means  of  intoxication  are  procured 
by  liquors  or  by  opiates,  where  the  craving  has  be- 
come confirmed.  The  rational  method  is  to  allow 
individual  freedom,  but  to  aim  at  prevention  by 
the  spread  of  knowledge  of  the  evil  effects  of  ar- 
dent spirits,  by  the  inculcation  of  self-restraint  for 


yji 


212 


THA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


I 


the  advantage  of  self  and  others,  and  by  study  of 
the  laws  of  heredity  which  may  suggest  means  of 
preventing  the  transmission  of  depraved  appetites. 
The  recognition  of  intemperance  as  a  disease,  and 
its  treatment  by  scientific  methods,  is  in  brief  the 
method  of  rationalism. 

As  to  crime,  the  same  remarks  may  largely  ap- 
ply, l^he  science  of  heredity  has  a  great  mission 
in  this  field.  Conversion  may  rescue  a  few ;  but 
the  improvement  of  the  race  must  be  gradually  ef- 
fected by  physical  improvement,  by  vivid  impres- 
sions of  the  certainty  of  the  punishment  of  crime, 
and  by  the  growth  of  prosperity.  A  disciple  asked 
the  ancient  rationalist,  Confucius,  "  Since  the  peo- 
ple are  so  numerous,  what  more  is  needed?" 
Confucius  replied,  **  Make  them  well  off."  "After 
that,  what  else?"  "Instruct  them."  Preaching 
and  tracts  will  not  restrain  the  starving.  Comfort 
is  a  prerequisite  to  learning.  The  question  of 
capital  and  labor  is  therefore  a  problem  intimately 
connected  with  that  of  crime,  and  general  thrift 
must  precede  general  virtue. 

The  relation  of  the  sexes  is  a  question  made 
more  difficult  of  solution,  because  a  false  propriety 
restricts  its  discussion.  With  this  as  with  the 
other  problems,  the  rationalist  has  no  patent  nos- 
trums to  effect  immediate  cures ;  but  he  claims  to 
point  out  the  methods  in  which  light  may  best  be 
gained.     The  present  attitude  of  Christianity  upon 


mmmmmmmmmm 


!■! 


J^EFOKM. 


!»3 


this  topic  is  that  of  positive,  unreasoning  dictation. 
Thou  shalt  not, — because  Moses  and  Christ  said 
so.  Look  to  Jesus  for  strength  to  conquer  fleshly 
lusts.  '•  Deny  thyself,  and  take  thy  cross  !  "  The 
failure  of  this  method  need  not  be  argued.  The 
method  of  rationalism  would  be  the  spread  of 
knowledge  about  the  human  body ;  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  fact  that  there  is  nothing  unholy  or  un- 
clean in  our  organisms  or  natural  impulses  ;  the 
removal  of  a  false  glamour  and  exaggerated  no- 
tions, that  the  sexes  entertain  toward  each  other, 
by  co-education  and  familiar  association  ;  early  in- 
struction upon  the  direful  effects  of  sexual  vices, 
and  demonstration  that  self-control  is  the  truest 
self-interest.  A  refined  lady  graduate  of  a  West- 
ern college,  where  co-education  of  the  sexes  was 
practised,  remarked :  "  Whenever  I  met  friends 
who  were  being  educated  in  young  ladies*  semina- 
ries, they  usually  talked  about  the  young  men  and 
their  secret  efforts  to  correspond  or  associate  with 
them :  whereas  our  daily  association  with  young 
men  showed  us  what  commonplace  and  often  stu- 
pid things  they  were.  They  had  no  exaggerated 
fascination  for  us,  and  I  am  sure  there  was  less 
*  flirting*  than  where  the  girls  were  secluded." 

One  who  faces  the  ills  of  life,  the  woes  of  the 
wretched,  the  sorrows  and  **sins"  of  men,  is  at 
times  overwhelmed  with  the  consciousness  of  the 
hopelessness  of  speedy  amelioration.     He  can  only 


■►  »■■ 


214 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


I 

o' 


ask  himself  what  general  principles  are  best  adapt- 
ed to  furnish  remedies ;  and  he  finds  two  sugges- 
tions,— Christian  supernaturalism  and  rational  nat- 
uralism. But  he  says,  if  God  can  remedy  all  this, 
why  doesn't  he  do  it  ?  Men  have  been  pleading  for 
ages  for  him  to  fulfil  his  promise  to  answer  prayer, 
and  to  heed  their  petitions  that  these  ills  should  be 
removed.  He  has  had  opportunity  to  prove  his 
power  and  faithfulness,  but  he  has  failed  to  effect 
the  desired  reforms.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  seen 
that  all  permanent  progress  has  been  secured  by 
natural  agencies,  and  the  past  reveals  the  future. 

We  claim,  therefore,  that  not  only  does  ration- 
alism refute  the  charge  that  it  is  solely  destructive, 
but  all  valuable  construction  is  secured  by  its 
methods.  Where  Christianity  influences  intelli- 
gent people  for  good,  it  is  owing  to  its  adoption  of 
rationalism.  Its  modified  supernaturalism  is  ser- 
viceable to  some  heathen  races  as  a  stepping-stone 
toward  naturalism  ;  but  the  motive  forces  that  ad- 
vance civilization  are  not  prayer,  conversion,  and 
reliofious  doi^mas,  but  knowledi^e  of  nature  and  the 
application  of  her  hitherto  secret  powers  to  the 
welfare  of  man. 

Education,  then,  must  consist  less  in  the  study 
of  dead  languages  and  dying  theologies,  and  more 
in  research  into  nature's  operations  and  the  en- 
deavor to  conform  our  lives  to  those  beneficent 
principles  that  underlie  her  methods. 


TRUTH  IN  ERROR. 


I.    HELL. 


It  may  be  asserted  that  all  universal  beliefs  have 
either  been  founded  upon  some  genuine  fact  of 
nature  or  have  been  serviceable  in  the  develop- 
ment of  man.  They  may  have  been  to  a  li^reat 
extent  mistaken  inferences,  but  there  was  a  basis 
of  truth  and  a  measurably  beneficial  result.  When 
more  of  the  fact  is  discovered,  man's  conceptions 
change,  and  he  alters  his  belief  and  his  methods. 
In  rejecting  the  religious  dogmas,  whose  falsity  is 
being  exposed  by  the  increasing  light  of  science, 
we  do  well  to  search  if  there  is  any  good  thing  in 
them  and  preserve  the  truth  germs  they  may  con- 
tain, which  have  been  helpful  to  man  in  the  past, 
remembering  Shakespeare's  words, — 

"There  is  some  soul  of  goodness  in  things  evil, 
Would  men  observingly  distill  it  out." 

One  of  the  most  prominent  universal  beliefs  is 
that  of  punishment  after  death,  which  in  Calvin- 
ism has.  assumed  the  form  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
eternal  torment  in  hell  of  all  who  reject  the  way  of 
salvation  by  the  atonement  of  Christ.  The  falsity 
of  this  dogma  has  often  been  shown  ;  but  its  oppo- 


at6 


r.'xA  yJiLS  /4V  FAITH, 


ft 

a 

I 

.    *' 


u 

5^ 


nent5  do  not  always  recognize  the  fact  that  its  be- 
lief rests  upon  a  fundamental  truth,  which  is,  that 
the  law  of  the  unfailing  succession  of  cause  and 
effect  prevails  in  morals  as  truly  as  in  the  phys-. 
ical  world. 

It  is  considered  a  waste  of  words  to  attack  the 
Calvinistic  doctrine  of  endless  punishment,  for  it 
may  fairly  be  claimed  that  no  intelligent  person 
now  believes  it.  True,  manyprofess  to  believe  it, 
and  some  even  think  they  believe  it ;  but,  judged 
by  accepted  rules  of  evidence,  their  belief  is  dis- 
proved. Genuine  belief  is  always  manifested  in 
corresponding  action.  Belief  in  the  existence  of  a 
pitfall,  the  approach  of  an  avalanche,  or  the  pres- 
ence of  a  wild  beast,  is  always  eagerly  communi- 
cated to  others.  Men  will  not  allow  others  to  go 
into  danger  without  warning  and  without  deep 
concern  for  their  welfare.  Judged  by  this  rule, 
how  many  really  believe  the  doctrine  of  everlast- 
ing punishment?  If  men  all  around  us  are  going 
down  to  an  eternal  hell,  and  Christians  believe  it 
and  know  of  an  easy  way  of  escape,  would  they  so 
seldom  vary  their  lives  of  business  and  pleasure  by 
a  word  to  the  impenitent  ?.  Would  they  \y^  able  to 
live  contentedly  in  a  round  of  diversioM,  music, 
embroidery,  and  cigar-smoking,  while  iheir  neigh- 
bors are  dropping  into  ceaseless  doom,  where  "  the 
smoke  of  their  torment  ascendeth  up  for  ever  and 
ever"?     Would  ministers  of  churches  only  make 


TRUTH  IX  EKKOR. 


217 


It 


vague  allusions  to  the  dread  dogma,  and  leave  the 
preaching  of  terror  to  evangelists,  without  charge 
of  societies,  who  are  not  imperilled  by  the  dissent 
of  parishioners?  It  is  seldom  preached  now  in 
city  churches,  and  n.inisters'  minds  are  everywhere 
perplexed  in  the  effort  to  reconcile  revelation  with 
good  taste. 

Genuine  belief  is  evidenced  not  only  by  action, 
but  also  by  a  consistent  application  of  the  theory 
espoused.  Hut  the  doctrine  of  eternal  damnation 
is  never  applied  within  the  circle  of  the  believer's 
acquaintance ;  it  only  does  for  strangers  and 
heathen,  or  possibly,  like  Arten^as  Ward,  for  one's 
wife's  relations.  In  all  cases  where  sympathy  is 
aroused,  it  is  denied  or  evaded.  A  lady,  brought 
up  in  this  creed,  professedly  held  to  it,  until  a 
favorite  son,  a  wild,  wayward  boy,  swam  across  a 
stream  to  rob  an  orchard,  and,  being  chased  by  the 
owner,  w^as  drowned  in  mid  stream,  w^ith  profane 
curses  on  his  lips.  Her  creed  sent  him  to  hell ; 
but  the  lovinor  mother's  heart  abolished  the  creed, 
and  she  ceased  to  be  a  Calvinist. 

Two  ladies,  cousins,  lived  alongside  of  each  oth- 
er in  a  sea-port  town.  One  was  brought  up  as  a 
Calvinist,  the  other  as  a  Unitarian.  They  were 
wealthy,  intelligent,  hospitable,  and  especially  kind 
to  the  poor.  They  lived  to  old  age,  and  died, — 
one  trusting  in  Christ  for  salvation  through  his 
atoning  blood,  the  other,  without  any  faith   in 


wm 


218 


TRAVELS  IN  FA  ITU, 


Christ,  peacefully  committing  her  soul  into  the 
hands  of  her  heavenly  Father.  A  lady  who  was  a 
cousin  of  both  was  asked,  "Can  any  one  be  saved 
who  rejects  Christ  as  an  atoning  Saviour?" 

She   emphpt icaily   answered,    "  No ;   the    Bible 
clearly  says  so  :  *  He  that  believeth  not  the  Son 

shall  not  see  life,  but  the  wrath  of  God  abidethon 

h*     >  ti 
ini. 

"  Did  your  cousin  S.  believe  in  Christ  as  a  Sav- 
iour?" 

*•  No,  she  died  as  she  lived,  denying  that  he  was 
anything  more  than  a  good  man." 

•*  Then,  she  is  in  hell ! " 

She  started  in  horror,  and  replied :    "  Oh,  she 
was  a  dear  good  soul !     It  can't  be  !  " 

Let  us  see  what  the  doctrine  of  hell  means,  when 
consistently  applied.  The  population  of  the  world 
is  stated  to  be  1,350,000,000.  Of  these,  about 
300,000,000  are  nominal  Christians  ;  but  very  few 
have  been  converted  or  born  again,  and,  "  except 
a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom 
of  God."  The  majority  rely  for  salvation  upon 
the  rites  of  the  church  or  good  works,  or  else  are 
indifferent  as  to  their  future  state.  An  estimable 
and  learned  man  has  lately  said  in  a  public  lecture 
that,  of  those  whom  men  call  Christians,  God 
would  only  call  two  per  cent.  Christians.  Upon 
this  estimate  there  Mre  six  million  truly  converted 
Christians  in  the  world;  and,  as  about  forty  mill- 


..    ..^M'iMMl 


■OaMMa*.  MiMii    wwimn'  iiiiiiiiii 


—,.    ■     ,,.,  .w^  ,j,. — rtT(Viit"ii.rirl*.i  I  :' 


MMMMHiftMMKtfi^ 


TRUTH  LV  ERROR. 


2I(> 


ion  people  die  every  year,  it  follows  logically  that 
yearly  180,000  people  go  to  heaven,  and  39,820,- 
000  are  doomed  to  hell.  There  have  been  many 
people  who  would  have  assented  to  this,  and  who 
had  no  hope  for  the  salvation  of  infants  and 
heathen  ;  but  the  mind  and  heart  of  the  nineteenth 
century  revolt  from  these  atrocious  statements. 
Infant  salvation  is  now  generally  admitted,  except 
that  Roman  Catholics  limit  salvation  to  the  bap- 
tized. This  rescues  half  of  the  human  race ;  and 
charity  savjs  a  majority  of  the  rest,  in  fact  all 
toward  whom  sentiment  is  excited.  Men  will  not 
now  admit  there  are  few  that  be  saved,  though 
they  still  profess  to  revere  the  v/ords  of  Jesus, — 
**  few  are  chosen,"  and  "  few  there  be  that  find  it." 
To  make  the  doctrine  less  horrible,  some  say  that 
the  unbelieving  are  annihilated.  They  find  this  in 
the  Bible,  but  the  great  majority  of  Christians  do 
not  so  read  it.  Others  sL^y  the  heathen  will  not 
perish:  but,  to  justify  foreign  missions.  Prof. 
Shcdd  preached  a  sermon  before  the  American 
Board,  entitled  "The  Guilt  of  the  Pagan,"  enforc- 
ing Paul's  words,  "  I'^or  as  many  as  have  sinned 
without  law  shall  also  perisli  without  law";  and 
he  proved  that,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  the 
heathen  are  "  without  excuse."  The  Broad  Church- 
man relies  upon  Canon  Farrar's  interpretation  of 
aionios  and  gchcnna  to  soften  the  doctrine  and 
limit  the  duration  of  the  penalty. 


BB 


mm 


^ 


2\^ 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


I 

I 


$ 


But  none  of  these  explanations  reconcile  the  re- 
flecting mind  and  tender  heart  to  the  docrine  of 
damnation  as  being  the  will  and  revelation  of  God. 
An  eminent  Conq^reij^ational  minister  was  asked 
what  he  thought  about  eternal  punishment.  "  I 
try  never  to  think  of  it,"  was  replied.  "  If  I  do,  it 
gives  me  the  blues  for  a  fortnight."  When  an 
unregenerate  philanthropist  dies,  men  fall  back 
upon  *•  the  mercy  of  God,"  and  say,  "  Shall  not 
the  judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right ! "  "  None  will 
perish  without  a  good  reason  for  it."  *'  We  know 
not  what  may  have  passed  between  the  soul  and 
its  Saviour  in  the  last  moments."  Carlyle,  Emer- 
son, Longfellow,  and  I^arwin  may  reject  revelation 
with  impunity,  but  woe  to  the  unknown  and  un- 
honored  unbeliever ! 

A  doctrine  thus  loosely  believed  is  not  worthy 
of  attack,  and  we  can  only  wonder  that  men  do 
not  abandon  it  in  principle,  as  they  have  already 
done  in  practice.  Instead  of  attempting  to  trim 
down  the  doctrine  into  accord  with  science  and 
sense,  thus  conceding  the  imperfection  of  "  revela- 
tion," is  it  not  more  honoring  to  God  and  more 
creditable  to  man  to  admit  that  the  New  Testa- 
ment contains  merely  the  human  record  of  the  hu- 
man beliefs  of  the  aiie  in  which  it  was  written  ? 

But  is  this  all-prevailing  idea  of  hell,  reaching 
over  all  lands  and  back  through  distant  ages,  ut- 
terly false  ?     No  :  it  is  founded  on  fact  and  use. 


I 


iiiiiiaitigttitoteJiiiHiM  ruli  ir  ■  ^     m^a^tin  i  «iii 


.iivi*.t4*»w*  ■w.c—. .—- »^ 


! 


TRUTlf  IN  ERROR. 


221 


as  IS  every  other  human  belief.  The  fact  is  the 
pleasurableness  of  good  and  the  painfulness  of 
evil  In  the  long  run,  virtue  brings  its  own  re- 
ward and  sin  its  own  curse  ;;  and  these  results  con- 
tinue while  existence  lasts.  The  sinner  will  for- 
ever be  the  worse  off  for  his  sin  :  no  atonement, 
no  death-bed  repentance,  can  remove  the  natural 
consequences  of  sin  to  the  guilty.  It  is  untrue 
that  a  complete  and  hopeless  doom  will  be  arbitra- 
r>Jy  inflicted  upon  the  sinner ;  but  the  natural  ill 
of  each  transgression  will  follow  its  commission. 
Nature  has  recuperative  power:  the  wound  in  the 
flcih  is  healed ;  but  the  effort  has  made  a  certain 
drain,  minute  it  may  be,  upon  the  stock  of  vitality. 
So,  evil  in  the  end  may  sometimes  lead  to  good, 
but  there  has  been  a  loss  that  is  never  repaired. 
Men  seem  to  escape  the  consequences  of  their  evil 
acts;  btit  a  knowledire  of  their  thoujj^hts  and  lives 
would  nhow  the  ills  they  bear,  and  these  are  often 
more  p'ainly  manifested  in  their  posterity.  This 
is  the  tri'th  that  underlies  the  false  doctrine  of 
hell, — natural  retribution. 

The  use  of  the  belief  is  the  restraining  power 
of  fear.  This  has  been  a  potent  influence  in  the 
past ;  but  the  doubted  threat  loses  its  power,  and 
mer*  are  losing  belief  in  hell.  It  no  longer  terri- 
fies a  lasted  people,  and  its  far-away  :urse  does 
not  restrain  the  passionate. 

Liberals  are  accused  of  lessening  the  restraints 


222 


TRA  VELS  IN  FA/TJL 


I 

I 
s 


I 


upon  immorality  by  overthrowing  the  Bible  doc- 
trine of  everlasting  punishment ;  but  they  really  are 
more  severe  toward  sin  than  are  the  orthodox,  for 
they  do  not  encourage  the  sinner  to  believe  that 
the  consequences  of  lifelong  crimes  can  be  escaped 
by  the  lifting  of  the  eye  to  the  cross.  They  teach 
unavoidable  injury  from  sin. 

Though  men  cease  to  have  the  dread  of  eternal 
hopeless  torture  before  them,  other  motives  may 
be  as  serviceable.  The  perception  of  the  advan- 
tages of  goodness,  a  sense  which  is  growing  in 
man  through  the  experience  ,'  es,  the  certainty 
of  the  human  retribution  of  c  ..:e,  which  social 
science  will  yet  evolve,  and  the  perception  of  the 
inevitable  natural  punishment  which  follows  all 
wrong-doing, — this  hope  and  these  fears  will  re- 
generate the  world. 

II.    ATONKMKNT    AND    SALVATION. 

The  doctrine  of  atonement,  which  pervades  the 
Bible  and  exists  in  some  form  in  all  religions,  the 
necessity  of  the  suffering  of  one  as  ♦^he  condition 
for  the  forgiveness  of  another,  must  have  a  basis 
of  truth,  or  it  could  never  have  gained  such  wide 
acceptance  throughout  the  world  as  it  has  done. 

The  Calvinistic  doctrine  of  salvation  by  faith  in 
Christ  is  impoi..^ible  to  understand,  and  harder  still 
to  believe,  except  by  those  who  adopt  the  motto, 


' 


)C- 

• 

re 

or 

at 

ed 

« 

ch 

al 

' 

ay 

.n- 

in 

ty 

ial 

le 

ill 

•e- 

le 

le 

•n 

• 

IS 

e 

. .  ^ 

n        ' 

)■ 

11 

>» 

• 

"  I  believe  because  it  is  impossible."  Many  dif- 
ferent theories  of  the  atonement  are  presented. 
The  old  school  Calvinists  believe  in  the  sacrificial 
atonement,  that  Christ  died  in  our  stead,  savini^ 
us  by  substitution,  bearini;  the  wrath  of  God  that 
was  due  to  us.  A  newer  school,  expounded  by 
Dr.  Bushnell,  and  fast  i^rowinix  in  our  theoloirical 
seminaries,  accepts  the  moral  theory  of  the  atone- 
ment, or  various  modifications  of  the  idea  of  vica- 
rious atonement  approaching  to  the  moral  theory, 
which  makes  the  life  and  death  of  Christ  efficacious 
only  as  an  example,  and  makes  salvation  the  act 
of  the  grace  of  God,  not  purchr.sed  by  Christ's  suf- 
fering. We  are  told  to  believe  in  Christ  in  order 
to  be  saved,  but  v/hat  we  are  to  believe  about 
Christ  is  so  variously  stated  that  the  seeker  is  be- 
wildered. 

This  is  a  most  unsatisfactory  doctrine  to  attack, 
for,  whatever  phase  of  atonement  is  controverted, 
the  assailant  is  told  he  has  misconceiv^ed  the  the- 
ory ;  and,  if  he  patiently  demolishes  every  aspect 
in  turn,  it  is  said  that  our  only  concern  is  to  have 
faith  in  the  person  of  Christ,  and  how  he  saves  us, 
and  in  what  way  God  looks  upon  the  atonement 
as  accomplishing  this,  God  only  knows. 

This  doctrine  teaches  us  that  the  penitent  thief 
upon  the  cross,  the  believing  murderer  on  the  scaf- 
fold, the  dying  aged  sinner  converted  in  his  last 
illn'^ss,  do,  upon    their   deaths,  immediately   pass 


224 


TRA  VELS  /AT  FAITH. 


into  glory ;  but  the  rational  philanthropist,  the 
earnest  laborious  scientist,  or  good  moralist,  of 
sceptical  minds,  after  long  lives  of  devotion  to  the 
welfare  and  elevation  of  the  human  race,  must 
perish  eternally. 

Belief  is  largely  accidental :  the  children  of  be- 
lievers are  apt  to  believe,  the  children  of  sceptics 
doubt.  Comparatively  few  leave  the  creed  they 
were  brought  up  to  profess  :  therefore,  the  children 
are  punislied  for  the  parents*  sin  to  remote  genera- 
tions.    This  idea  universal  morality  condemns. 

Children  are  seldom  converted  until  they  are 
twelve  or  fifteen  years  of  age.  What  becomes  of 
those  who  die  earlier,  a  b'ge  proportion  of  the 
human  race  ?  Baptismal  regeneration  provides  for 
their  safety.  But  Calvinists  reject  that  dogma, 
and  make  no  definite  logical  provision  for  their 
salvation.  They  rest  in  a  vague  idea  that  God 
gives  the  benefit  of  the  atonement  to  those  who 
are  ^  ot  responsible  for  the  choice;  but  they  have 
never  decided  at  what  age  a  child  becomes  respon- 
sible, and  the  sorrowing  parents  must  wait  till 
eternity  to  know  whether  their  children  have  re- 
ceived a  free  pass  into  heaven  on  account  of  their 
youth  or  idiocy,  or  have  been  rejected  as  responsi- 
ble beings. 

Although,  in  practical  morality,  men  condemn 
the  imposition  of  suffering  upon  the  innocent  in 
order  to  spare  the  guilty,  and  declare  that  the  right- 


TKUTH  IN  EKKOK. 


!2S 


eousness  of  one  cannot  offset  the  sin  of  another, 
yet  they  become  familiar  with  voluntary  sacrifice 
for  the  temporal  good  of  others.  "  Nothinij  with- 
out labor"  is  a  natural  law.  Toil  for  money,  study 
for  learnini^,  exercise  for  strem^th,  self-denial  for 
benevolence,  are  some  of  the  labors  endured  for 
desired  results.  It  is  observed  in  all  life  that  trial 
and  suffering  are  the  price  of  advancement,  and 
that  the  joy  of  one  is  promoted  by  the  calamity  of 
another.  Men  die  to  save  other  men  from  drown- 
ing or  burning,  and  to  preserve  the  liberties  of  their 
race.  In  nature  there  is  not  only  a  struggle  for 
existence  and  a  survival  of  the  fittest,  but  on  every 
side  we  see  self-sacrifice  for  the  good  of  others, 
and  benefits  springing  from  misfortunes.  The 
parent  animals  devote  their  lives  to  the  rearing  of 
their  young.  Each  order  of  animals  dies  for  the 
sustenance  of  a  higher  race.  The  falling  leaf  and 
decaying  tree  fertilize  the  ground  lor  new  growths. 
These  may  be  the  foundation  facts  which  men  have 
transferred  to  the  sphere  of  morals. 

If  the  theory  of  eternal  salvation  through  an- 
other's sufferings  be  abandoned,  the  fact  of  the 
possibility  of  the  present  salvation  of  men  through 
our  own  efforts  remains.  Perhaps  laziness  and 
selfishness  have  had  something  to  do  with  putting 
salvation  upon  God  instead  of  upon  our  own  labors, 
just  as  Sydney  Smith  described  English  benevo- 
lence, saying,  "  When  A  sees  B  in  distress,  he  has 
»5 


226 


TRAVELS  IN  FAITH. 


a  Strong  desire  to  compel  C  to  help  him."  It  is 
easier  to  say  "  God  help  you  "  than  to  lend  a  hand 
to  a  suffering  brother.  We  may  all  be  saviors, 
offering  up  ourselves  daily  for  the  good  of  others ; 
and,  by  another  law  of  nature,  we  shall  find  that 
such  offering  blesses  him  who  gives. 

Each  person  who  endures  an  ill  may  feel  that  he 
has  bori.e  it  for  some  one  else;  for  only  a  certain 
j^roportion  of  accidents  happen,  and  each  one  who 
is  a  victim  spares  another  from  the  affliction,  and 
thus  makes  atonement  for  him. 


I 

•4 

I 

I 

I 


III.    TlIK    liOl)    OF    THE    mULE. 

The  Bible  bears  the  marks  of  having  been  writ- 
ten by  sincere  men.  They  were  sometimes  credu- 
lous, superstitious,  and  ignorant,  as  judged  by  pres- 
ent standards,  and  their  writings  are  therefore 
cumbered  with  legend,  myth,  and  mistake ;  but 
back  of  all  lies  truth,  and  every  dogma  has  some 
foundation  principle  which  we  do  well  to  recog- 
nize. 

The  personal  Jehovah,  who  wars,  hates,  and  kills, 
sends  famines  and  pestilences,  and  creates  evil, — 
who  also  creates  life,  loves,  blesses,  and  forgives, 
— is  a  human  conception  of  the  mind,  soul,  princi- 
ple, law,  force,  or  we  may  say  God,  that  works  in 
matter,  and  pr-^duces  all  things  material  and  men- 
tal   by  orderly  development.     Our   reverence  for 


TRUTH  IN  ERROR. 


227 


this  principle  is  only  increased  by  denuding  it  of 
its  human  attributes  ;  and  we  only  change  Gods, 
as  men  in  every  age  and  clime  have  done  as  their 
knowledi^e  of  nature  has  altered. 

We  are  nearer  to  the  foundation  truth  by  this 
change,  but  the  mystery  of  eternal  existence  with- 
out beginning  is  unsolved.  If  we  cannot  define 
this  God  in  human  phrase,  it  yet  calls  out  every 
attribute  of  wonder,  reverence,  and  aspiration  in 
oi!»*  .^atures.  It  is  a  far  greater  marvel  than  the 
Hebrew  Deity  or  Calvin's  God,  and  more  worthy 
of  respect. 

We  can  see  its  working  in  the  blade  of  grass  and 
the  forest  tree,  in  the  summer  i)reeze  and  the  tor- 
nado, in  the  calm  of  evening  twilight  and  the 
earthquake, — not  by  phenomenal  and  arbitrary 
acts,  but  through  a  procession  of  causes  reaching 
back  beyond  mortal  ken.  Tain  and  destruction 
are  not  the  deliberate  acts  of  a  wrathful  or  chasten- 
ing God,  who  consciously  sends  them  with  refer- 
ence to  their  immediate  effects  ;  but  they  are  the 
necessary  results  of  an  eternal  succession  of  causes. 
And  we  do  not  need  to  propitiate  the  Deity  that 
he  may  not  send  such  calamities,  but  we  need  to 
increase  our  knowledge  of  these  operations  of  na- 
ture, that,  by  coming  into  harmony  with  their 
workings,  we  may  avoid  their  evil  results.  Each 
disaster  is  a  factor  in  mart's  education  ;  and  expe- 
rience will,  in  future  ages,  lead  to  his  triumph  over 


328 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH, 


evil.  The  loss  of  life  in  burning  buildings,  instead 
of  leading  us  to  implore  God  to  avert  such  disas- 
ters m  future,  teaches  us  to  use  new  precautions 
against  fire,  and  make  improved  exits.  It  is  a 
great  relief  to  feel  that  we  are  not  under  the  dis- 
cipline of  a  ruler  who  is  to  be  propitiated  by  our 
mental  exercises,  but  to  know  that  the  forces  that 
now  control  us  are  merely  teaching  us  how  to  be- 
come their  masters. 

Our  reverence  is  called  forth  by  this  tendency 
toward  goodness  which  pervades  nature,  whatever 
its  origin  ;  and  our  aspiration  is  stimulated  to  let 
our  lives  come  into  harmony  with  nature's  meth- 
ods, and  let  both  joy  and  sorrow  promote  our  own 
good  and  that  of  others. 

IV.  CONVERSION, 

The  Calvinistic  theory  of  conversion  is  only  the 
exaggerated  form  of  a  vital  truth.  Conversion, 
on  its  natural  side,  is  repentance  and  reform,  the 
resolve  to  cease  from  violations  of  natural  laws, 
and  conform  our  lives  to  a  standard  of  right-doing 
which  is  approved  by  reason  and  conscience. 
These  turnings  about  and  intense  resolutions  to 
follow  goodness  are  manifested  under  all  religions, 
and  will  both  exist  and  increase  when  their  nat- 
uralness is  recognized.  The  emotional,  frenzied, 
and  "supernatural"  side  of  conversion  is  also  com- 


) 


tmmtt 


'■^*P1*  •^^Vrlffli! 


TRUTH  /A'  ERROK. 


229 


mon  to  all  religions  and  climes,  and  is  a  natural 
effect  of  the  intense  concentration  of  the  mind 
jpon  a  given  subject.  This  form  of  orthodox 
conversion  seldom  occurs  to  persons  who  have 
reached  the  age  of  maturity.  It  is  supposed  they 
have  become  hardened  in  their  sins,  and  cannot 
change.  But  they  do  all  their  best  work  then  in 
every  other  branch  of  knovdedge  ;  and  why  should 
not  their  estimate  of  religion  be  equally  valuable  ? 
The  true  explanation  is  that  theology  rests  upon 
emotion  and  human  authority,  not  upon  reason. 
Suppose  a  teacher  proclaimed  a  new  law  of  phys- 
ics, and  nine-tenths  of  all  his  converts  were  under 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  would  not  this  fact  be 
deemed  strong  evidence  against  the  value  of  his 
theory  ? 

The  sudden  resolution  to  forsake  evil  and  choose 
good,  called  conversion,  will  continue  to  be  exer- 
cised, even  if  belief  in  the  supernatural  is  aban- 
oned. 

v.  KLECTION. 

The  doctrine  of  election,  that  God  of  his  own 
good  pleasure,  from  all  et-  rnity,  has  elected  some 
to  everlasting  life,  produces  a  hurtful  conceit  in 
the  elect  and  an  uncharitable  assumption  in  their 
conduct  toward  sinners.  They  imagine  the  exist- 
ence of  a  supernatural  difference  between  them- 
.^elYfiS-and  other  men,  and  hold  aloof  from  them  or 


230 


TKA  VELS  JN  FAITH. 


I 
I 


5^ 


patronize  them  offensively.  If  God  should  neg- 
lect to  save  them,  why  should  we  trouble  ourselves 
about  it  ?  If  God  can  send  numbers  of  men  to 
hell  every  day,  why,  if  he  can  stand  it,  we  can ! 
Does  not  this  blunt  sensibility,  paralyze  effort  and 
'hinder  the  brotherhood  of  man?  This  arbitrary 
choice  of  men  to  be  saved  is  irrational  and  im- 
moral ;  and  yet  it  is  the  perverted  form  of  one  of 
the  most  vital  truths  of  nature, — the  survival  of 
the  fittest, — the  fact  that  fitness  finds  its  sphere. 
If  one  is  qualified  for  action  or  service,  the  oppor- 
tunity is  apt  to  come  to  him,  the  occasion  seeks 
the  man.  Thus  there  is  a  natural  selection,  lead- 
ing to  the  triumph  of  the  best.  The  true  *'  elect  " 
are  the  discoverers,  the  searchers,  the  earnest  la- 
borers, who  in  science,  morals,  education,  and  be- 
nevolence, are  (juietly  but  surely  redeeming  the 
worUl.  These  are  ''the  chosen  ones,"  "the  pecul- 
iar people  zealous  of  good  works."  Every  creed 
is  on  their  lips;  but  their  purpose  is  one,  and  their 
reward  cometh. 


VI.    TI!E    MILLENNIUM. 

The  hope  of  a  brighter  future,  a  perfect  day  for 
the  world,  has  had  a  place  in  the  mythologies  of 
almost  all  nations.  The  Greeks  and  Romans, 
while  lamenting  the  decline  of  the  world  from  the 
Golden  Age  in  which  it  commenced,  comforted 
themselves  with  the  assurance  of  its   restoration. 


TRUTH  IX  ERKOK, 


-J' 


\ 


The  Persians  expected  the  triumph  of  Ormu/Al 
over  Ahriman  and  the  consequent  overthrow  of 
all  ill.  The  Jews  and  Christians,  in  their  millen- 
nium or  thousand  years  of  blessedness,  have  only 
voiced  again  the  yearning  and  hope  of  humanity 
for  a  blessed  era  of  peace,  prosperity,  righteous- 
ness, and  happiness. 

If  universal  beliefs  have  a  basis  of  truth,  it  may 
be  asked  whether  science  gives  any  intimation  of 
a  foundation  fact  for  this  universal  hope  of** a 
Sfood  time  comint^." 

Research  of  the  past  and  ob  crvation  of  the 
present  reveal  progress,  and  when  this  is  recog- 
nized hope  seizes  upon  the  fact  as  a  promise 
of  perfection.  Not  only  in  history  do  we  see  a 
growth  upward  in  man's  development  in  morals, 
knowledge,  and  arts,  but  study  of  the  earth  reveals 
an  upward  progression  in  life.  The  earliest  strati- 
fied rocks  show  us  only  the  remains  of  the  lowest 
forms  of  animal  and  plant  life,  and  in  successive 
later  deposits  come  the  higher  orders  of  life. 
Haeckel  divides  the  history  of  life  upon  the  earth, 
as  shown  by  the  testimony  of  the  rocks,  into  five 
great  epochs  in  which  life  developed  in  an  ascend- 
ing scale,  in  the  following  order:  i.  Skulless  ver- 
tebrates and  seaweeds ;  2.  Fishes  and  ferns ;  3. 
Reptiles  and  pines  ;  4.  Mammals  and  leaf  forests  ; 
5.  Man  and  cultivated  forests.  The  earth  tells 
this  story  of   progress,   and   analogy  asks,   Why 


232 


TKA  VELS  JN  FAITH. 


I 

4 


! 


* 


should  progress  stop  short  of  perfection  ?  A  de- 
velopment of  matter  from  p'.oneron  to  man  gives 
warrant  for  all  the  fondest  dreams  of  the  future 
development  of  life  into  angelic  forms,  and  of  the 
enlargement  of  man's  powers  to  godlike  efficiency. 
If  atom  develops  to  man,  man  may  advance  to 
God. 

The  early  Christians  believed  this  Golden  Age 
to  be  "  at  hand,"  and  many  now  look  for  the 
speedy  coming  of  the  Lord  and  the  deliverance  of 
the  groaning  creation  into  ''the  glorious  liberty  of 
the  sons  of  God.'*  It  may  be  asked,  If  science  ad- 
mits the  probability  of  a  state  of  future  blessedness 
upon  the  earth,  what  has  it  to  say  of  times  and 
si  sons?  Here  again  the  analogies  of  the  past 
piompt  the  hope  that  the  day  of  promise  "draweth 
ni<jh. 

Haeckel  estimates  that  the  life-bearing  rocks, 
which  have  been  deposited  in  strata  by  the  waters 
have  a  thickness  of  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  feet.  The  strata  bearing  the  low  forms 
oif  the  first  epoch  are  about  seventy  thousand  feet, 
or  more  than  half  the  whole  thickness.  The  strata 
of  the  second  period — that  of  fi.^hes  and  ferns — are 
considered  to  be  about  forty-two  thousand  feet 
thick,  or  one-third  of  the  whole.  The  third  pe- 
riod— the  reptile  and  pine  era — shows  strata  fif- 
teen thousand  feet  thick,  or  one-ninth  of  the 
whole.     The  fourth  epoch — the  age  of  mammals — 


.miMMMi 


tiiAi»immmm»m  ^jt 


mUmiJi0mmmm^»ti 


TRUrir  /X  /CA'A'OA'. 


233 


shows  only  three  thousand  feet  of  rock,  or  one-for- 
tieth of  the  whole.  And  the  strata  of  the  fifth 
epoch — or  age  of  man — are  but  one  two  hun- 
dredth part  of  the  whole  life-bearing  strata  of 
rocks.  Thus  the  brevity  of  the  past  periods  of  de- 
velopmert  appears  in  the  ratio  of  2,  3,  9,  40,  200. 
From  this  wc  learn  that,  as  forms  become  higher, 
the  period  of  development  has  shortened  ;  and 
a  continuance  of  this  process  will  evolve  a  con- 
tinually hastening  change  to  higher  and  better 
things. 

In  our  observation  of  society,  we  observe  the 
rapid  improvement  made  in  many  departments  of 
life  by  one  invention.  \Vc  see  how  benefits  act 
and  interact  in  constantly  growing  proportions, 
and  influence  spheres  never  contemplated  in  their 
origin.  We  see  material  forces  promoting  moral 
progress,  as  when  railroads  and  telegraphs  assist 
the  detection  and  therefore  the  repression  of  crime. 
Each  advance  promotes  activity  in  thousands  of 
channels,  and  the  progress  of  development  is  con- 
tinually accelerated. 

Thus  the  analogies  of  the  past  excite  the  expec- 
tation of  constantly  shortening  epochs  of  advance- 
ment, and  Science  proclaims  the  glad  tidings  that 
"the  coming  of  the  Lord  draweth  nigh,"  "the 
night  is  far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand."  A  better 
and  brighter  day  for  humanity  approaches  with 
ever  quickening  footsteps,  and  promises  a  career 


234 


TRA  VELS  IN  FAITH. 


to  man  unlimited  by  harps  and  crowns,  but  lead- 
ing ever  on  to  infinite  attainment. 


■ 


4 


I 


VII.    CIIRISTIANITV. 

There  is  nothing  in  Christianity  that  is  recog- 
nized generally  as  good,  which  is  lost  or  weakened 
in  any  way  by  the  renunciation  of  its  encircling 
superstition.  Jesus  may  still  be  to  us  an  ideal  of 
human  goodness,  an  example  of  many  virtues, 
though  stripped  of  what  scientific  criticism  shows 
to  be  the  accretions  of  credulous  tradition.  He 
was  divine  in  nature,  as  all  men  are, — the  highest 
products  pf  the  inscrutable  force  that  has  moved 
in  matter  till  it  flowered  into  humanity. 

The  I  loly  Spirit  dwells  in  every  unbeliever  in 
his  personality,  who  does  not  grieve  him  away  by 
an  evil  life  that  debases  him  too  low  to  experience 
an  enthusiasm  for  goodness  ;  and  who  ever  sinks 
to  this  depth?  It  is  a  false  assumption  that  this 
divine  influence  only  comes  to  believers  in  a  cer- 
tain theory.  The  true  holy  spirit  is  the  impulse 
"  to  do  justly,  love  mercy,  and  make  other  men 
happy,"  which  dwells  in  some  measure  in  the 
breast  of  every  man,  of  every  race,  and  every  land, 
and  which  grows  as  it  is  exercised  and  as  true 
knowledge  increases. 

All  existence  is  a  miracle.  Revelation  Is  con- 
tinually given  to  the  earnest  student  of  nature. 


•  •» 


TRUril  IX  J:KKOh\ 


-35 


The  inventor,  the  scholar,  and  the  philanthropist 
are  inspired.  Rewards  and  punishments  follow 
naturally  upon  causes.  Heaven  comes  to  bless 
the  successful  effort  and  lofty  endeavor,  hestowinj; 
•as  natural  results  present  happiness  on  the  striver 
and  future  ijood  to  his  race.  Mell  curses  the 
inefficient,  immoral,  and  unnatural,  brinoini,^  sor- 
row and  pain  to  the  evil  or  unwise  doer  and  ex- 
tending;^ resulting  miseries  to  the  race.  A  persist- 
ent continuance  in  well-doing  leads  upward  to 
sanctification  and  holiness  ;  and  habits  of  goodness 
become  so  confirmed  that  falling  from  grace  be- 
comes improbable,  and  the  perseverance  of  saints 

is  assured. 

We  are  not  undermining  the  building  of  good- 
ness, or  sapping  the  tree  of  virtue,  by  destroying 
Calvinism  or  Christianity  or  Judaism.  \Vc  only 
tear  down  the  decayed  parts  of  the  superstructure 
built  by  men  upon  the  foundation  of  eternal  truth, 
and  shake  off  the  dead  leaves  and  prune  the  rotten 
twigs  from  the  branches  of  the  tree  of  knowledge, 
in  order  that  new  structures  may  be  reared  and 
fresh  growths  may  be  promoted. 


m 


FREE  THOUGHT  RHYMES. 


In  days  gone  by,  the  people  thought 
That  only  what  the  clergy  taught 

Was  worthy  of  belief ; 
They  held  the  keys  of  heaven's  gate, 
And  knew  the  mysteries  of  fate,— 

Eternal  joy  or  grief. 


I 

I 


u 
3| 


Now,  men  have  learned  that  all  may  pry, 
With  open  ear  and  eager  eye, 

Throughout  all  nature's  realm. 
There's  no  monopoly  of  light, 
And  he  is  safe  who  docs  the  right ; 

For  Law  controls  the  helm. 

'Twas  said  that  (lod  from  naught  made  earth, 
And  gave  to  varied  life  its  birth 

Within  six  solar  days ; 
He  made  things  all  at  once,  complete, 
All  very  good  to  l'"s  conceit. 

So  marvellous  were  his  ways. 


But  Science  says,  throughout  the  past 
The  world  has  grown,  in  ages  vast. 

By  nature's  forward  plan  ; 
The  whirling  star  dust  formed  the  world, 
And  life  by  slow  degrees  unfurled 

From  Moneron  to  Man. 


FREE  THOUGHT  RHYMES. 


«37 


Twas  said  that  erring  man  eat  fruit. 
When  templed  by  a  talking  brute  ; 

God's  curse  upon  him  fell ! 
But  mercy  kept  a  chosen  few, 
For  V  horn  Christ's  death  should  sin  undo^ 

And  save  their  souls  from  hell. 


But  now  we  learn  that  man  arose 
From  savage  natures,  and  his  foes 

By  knowledge  will  be  slain. 
His  path  is  ever  up  and  on. 
And  conquests,  by  his  study  won, 

Redeem  from  ill  and  pain. 

The  railroad,  telegraph,  and  press 
Work  mightily  to  render  less 

Impunity  of  crime. 
Extension  of  the  reign  of  law 
From  evil  deeds  will  men  withdraw 

* 

And  haste  the  Golden  Time. 

Man  need  not  fear  eternal  wrath, 
Nor  vengeance  lurking  in  his  path, 

Should  he  presume  to  think. 
But  Nature  gives  her  richest  prize 
To  him  who  dares  in  search  to  rise 

And  at  her  fountains  drink. 


Her  works  new  revelations  give, 
A  Bible  that  will  ever  live 

And  shed  increasing  light ; 
Beyond  the  writings  of  the  Jews 
Her  precepts  blessedness  difTuse, 

And  teach  the  true  and  right.  -^ 


3    d 


II 


s 


^\  ■■ 


238  TKAVEISW  FAITH, 

Ye  earnest  men,  no  longer  shrink 
From  speaking  what  you  truly  think ; 
Proclaim  the  truth  you  find  ! 

^"^ 'et  free  search,  free  speech,  free  thought, 
By  blood  of  ancient  worthies  bought, 
Advance  the  human  mind. 


THE    END. 


\  ':, 


I    . 


<     i 

:-■■'    «  . 


b    443   G     E    80 


^\  ■• 


l'.' 


k 


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